I've Been Harboring a Secret
by Juana la Cliker-Rooster
Summary: COMPLETED Zim isn't the evil alien Dib knows. The Irkens, sick of being oppressed by the Tallest, are fighting back. Twists and turns happen at every corner of this epic battle, and nothing is ever as it seems. Language, violence
1. Discovies

"**I've been Harboring a Secret" **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or its respective characters.**

**Zim proves himself to be the complete opposite of everything Dib believed he was. Now, having joined forces alongside with a familiar and new cast of Irken and other alien characters, Zim and Dib are embarking on the Revolution that changes it all.**

**Please keep in mind that this story is completed, and will not be continued anymore.  
**

-Juana

**Chapter One: Discoveries**

Thursday afternoon. Recess. Same old, same old. Same people, same nothing. He was getting bored and restless.

Oh, look. There was that stupid, bite-sized alien walking around, looking just as bored as Dib was. Nothing had happened all day so far, nothing new was learned, no one had talked to the boy, and he had done nothing to prove Zim's alien-ness. He had nothing new. He was tired of water balloons, food fights, insults and cameras. He needed something fresh, something the Irken wouldn't expect. But what? What would he never see coming from an earth child? A laser gun wielded by a human would shock him. A homicidal televison set. A clown of doom. The ability to speak Zim's language and call him names.

A number of midgets walked by and stared at the frolicking children through the chain-link fence that separated the free world from the oppression of the skool grounds. Dib looked at them and wondered why the midget numbers were rising so much. It was as though people were shrinking.

Never mind that. The fate of all humanity was at stake. What was original? Probably nothing he was thinking about before those midgets caught his attention briefly. Dib thought hard. What would the vile creature never expect? He got lost in his thoughts to the point where he heard nothing around him, not the screaming laughter of children, not the cars zipping on the roads beside the skool, not the clanging of metal chains on the swing-set, not the pitter-pattering of feet upon the black-top.

Until the bell rang. That horrible, ear-piercing shriek that always left him feeling partly deaf as he entered the skool once more.

Dib got up from the bench he was sitting on and walked right into someone.

"Sorry, didn't see you there." He sighed quietly. He looked up to find himself face-to-face with Zim. He jumped and yelled,

"Geez, Zim! How long you been standing there?" The alien laughed and shouted,

"STUPID HUMAN! At least five minutes. I'm surprised you didn't notice." Dib replied,

"I was just trying to think of new ways to expose you for what you really are. That's all." Zim shrugged and said,

"Oh. Okay, then. BUT YOU NEVER WILL! MWAHAHAHAHA!!" Dib walked past him and muttered,

"Whatever."

Ugh. The classroom. That hideous, dreadfully boring classroom. Dib hated it. No color, no happiness, nothing. A few stupid posters and a shelf of books that no one dared touch.

Students shuffled into the room, talking to one another loudly. Dib could hear Torque telling someone that after skool, he would give Dib a wedgie. Great. Just what he needed. It would be the fifth one this week. He'd have to escape from the skool five minutes early using the 'exploding bladder' excuse again.

'Maybe I should just kill myself when I get home,' he thought to himself. He stared at the chalk-board, waiting for something to happen. He dreaded that horrible teacher's entrance. He somehow managed to hate her more than he hated Zim. He wished for anything to stop her from coming to class. A fall down the stairs, a rabid gopher biting her in the neck till her veins popped, maybe an explosion that would fry her already half-dead body.

And here she comes, ladies and gentlemen! Dib silently cursed and lowered his head as Ms. Bitters took her place at her desk. She scanned the room for any missing students, then announced,

"Mandatory skool assembly. NOW. Go." She pointed to the door. Dib lifted his head at this wonderful news. He would be spared her terrible lecture on how much life sucked. He jumped gleefully out of his seat and followed the rest of his class to the dark auditorium. The room had no chairs, leaving students to sit on the floor. He found a place in the middle next to his sister, who was lost in the artificial glow of her Game-slave II, as usual.

The rest of the skool walked in, also happy about missing class. Dib could see Zim looking for a place to sit. He scanned the room and spotted Dib. Great. He was headed over. He was going to pester the boy through the entire assembly. The alien climbed over people and shoved his way through rudely until he parked his little green ass right next to Dib.

"What is this assembly for, stink-beast?" He asked nastily. Dib shrugged and answered,

"I dunno. Why are you sitting over here?"

"To pick on you, duh. Mind if I shove these wires through your ears?" Zim showed him several thick red, orange and green wires that he produced from his PAK.

"I do mind. Leave me alone." Dib pulled his knees to his chest and stared at the small stage before the entire cluster of children. Zim looked surprised. Normally Dib would have attacked him in some way and started to scream about Zim's inhuman-ness. Odd.

The dim lights went out and were replaced by stage lights that lit only a small portion of the stage. A man walked out and introduced himself.

"Hi kids! My name is Mr. Warson, and I'm from the 'Save the Peoples' organization. I have come here to speak with you about the horrors of war and what you can do to help. We also have Miss Sanchez, a social worker from the organization. Miss Sanchez?"

A tall, young woman stepped onto the stage and smiled at the kids. She had long, curly black hair and naturally tan skin. She looked Spanish.

Dib sighed. Now instead of listening to his teacher, he had to hear about war and death from a social worker. Yeah, that settled it. Suicide when he got home.

Miss Sanchez began her own little introduction.

"Hello. My name, as you heard, is Miss Sanchez. I am from Argentina, so please let me know if you have a hard time understanding me. I just learned English three years ago. I am a social worker, and I have worked with many victims of war and oppression. I come from a country which has been thrown into political turmoil, and many people have been tortured, murdered and kidnaped. It is because of these horrors that I am here, speaking to you. I will also be speaking to you about how you can help to make these tragedies end."

She stepped back and allowed Mr. Warson to speak. He gave his speech first, talking about people he'd met who had their homes taken away, whose families had been taken away from them, and so on. It was horribly depressing. Many students had left the assembly bawling their eyes out. He made everyone feel uncomfortable, including the teachers. When he ended his speech, no one clapped. They just stared with tears in their eyes. Warson cleared his throat and mumbled,

"Well, then. Um...Miss Sanchez?" She walked over to him, also teary-eyed. She coughed and started with a crack in her voice.

"Well, um. Wasn't that interesting. Children, I know these are hard to hear and I understand that you may feel sad by what you've heard, and that's why I'm here. I am going to tell you about things you can do to help these people. We don't want your money," she added as several students got up and nearly walked through the doors. They stopped and went back to their seats.

"Children, it is not hard to help. If you can donate canned foods to Save the Peoples, blankets, toys and clothing, that would be just wonderful. You could make posters to raise awareness of the horrors of war, and how to stop wars from happening. Hate causes war. And it doesn't stop with war. It also leads into all of your everyday lives. Many people today are murdered, and these murderers are people just like you. This is what I'm concerned with here. An example would be a child who is picked on all his or her life. They are called names, given 'wedgies', and have few or no friends. I'm sure that there are kids here who are picked on, and kids who do the picking on. Bullying is a major issue in schools today, and in this one as well. What do you think that leads to?" She paused. The room went completely silent. No one answered her question. She gazed around the room, waiting. When no one spoke up, she spoke louder.

"It leads to hate, children. Hate. Hate is a disease that plagues the mind, it feeds upon emotions and controls your soul. It leads to hurt, and this hurt can be directed towards others, or self-inflicted." She continued to speak in this manner, creepy and unsettling.

"There are people out there who want to hurt you, and you will have to be able to fight back."

The short lecture finally ended. The room was morbidly silent; no one spoke. They didn't need to.

"Um..." one timid teacher spoke up, "I guess we should all get back to class." Instantly, every person in the room jumped to their feet and tried desperately to get out of there. Dib stole one more look at Miss Sanchez. She didn't look offended; in fact, she wasn't moving. Her eyes were locked on something else, in his direction. He followed her gaze and found she was staring at Zim. No surprise. Zim didn't seem to have noticed. He wanted to get out of there just as badly as everyone else.

Dib shrugged and sighed. Back to boring, horrible class. More time to think about his soon-to-occur suicide.

The classroom was quiet. Ms. Bitters didn't speak. No one spoke, really. Dib doodled on his desk, wanting to just die right there. He glanced at the clock. Almost three o'clock. That was good. He noticed a silhouette moving outside the room. It seemed to be getting impatient, because the arms were crossed and the figure's head was constantly darting around and checking its wrist-watch for the time. Probably a parent.

Ten minutes....it was becoming unbearable. In just a few minutes, Dib would ask to use the bathroom and escape from the skool before he got that wedgie.

Eight minutes....

'Ah, screw it,' he thought. He raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Can I g-"

"Yes." Wow. That was easy. She usually didn't give in that quickly. Dib left his seat and went to the door.

"Me, too." Torque rose from his seat. "I gotta go, too." Shit. He was still bent on the wedgie. Dib ripped the door open and bolted in the opposite direction of the bathrooms.

He had to get out of there...he wasn't going to let anyone have the pleasure of hurting him one last time. He couldn't wait to get home and...he didn't know. He had no idea how he was going to do the suicide. He could hear someone chasing him. He didn't look back; he didn't need to. He knew who it was. The double doors were only feet away from him. He'd be free soon....

Wrong.

A hand closed on his elbow. He yelled out and tried to throw Torque off. When he couldn't, he turned his head to spit in his attacker's face, and then stopped himself. Very nervously, he asked,

"Um...hi. Could you let me go?"

Miss Sanchez had quite a strong grip. She smiled softly and said,

"Are you okay, sweetie? You had me scared for a moment. Why are you running?" Her voice was different than when on stage. It had that motherly, caring ring to it. A ring Dib had never known.

"Yeah. Listen, I gotta go. There's a kid after me and I gotta get home so I-"

"Can commit suicide." Holy shit.

"Um...what? No...I gotta lock the doors and watch my little sister." Holy shit.

"I know what you were thinking, sweetie. Come on, you can help me pick someone up." She loosened her grip but did not let go. She pulled him back to his classroom. This was not supposed to happen. Damn bitch.

"I am not a damn bitch, sweetie. Calm down, okay?" Holy sh- aw, screw it.

She did not tell Dib to go back inside. She asked him to wait outside with her.

"There's someone in here that I need to speak with. He may be a little suspicious at first, but when he realizes who I am, he'll lighten up. And no, you are NOT going to blast yourself when you get outta here." She was reading his thoughts. How the hell was she doing that? Dib had never been so scared of another human in his life.

The bell rang. Finally. Dib could hear his classmates shuffling their things together. The door opened and they poured out like lava. Slowly.

As Zim marched out, Miss Sanchez grabbed his arm as well. He spun around and shrieked,

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO TOUCH ZIM! I'LL LIGHT YOUR EYES ON FIRE AND SUFFOCATE YOUR BLADDER!" Miss Sanchez laughed.

"Very cute. I need to speak with you, dear." Zim was appalled. He tried to break free of her grip but found he couldn't. He tried kicking her, and nearly bit her as well. He looked at Dib and hissed,

"You told her something, didn't you. You little pig-weasel...I'll kill you later for this." Dib shrugged.

"Okay. Just kill me quickly, though." Zim stared at his enemy, surprised at his words. Weirdo.

Miss Sanchez waited for the rest of the class to empty out, then stepped into the classroom. Ms. Bitters was shuffling papers and was preparing to leave. She looked up at the intruding woman and sneered,

"What do you want here?" Miss Sanchez smiled that infectious, bright smile and answered,

"I was wondering if you would let me use this room after you left. I need to speak with these two students."

"Fine. I don't care." Ms. Bitters stood up and left with her papers. That was easier than Miss Sanchez had anticipated. She closed the door and let go of Dib and Zim. Predictably enough, both of them pushed her out of the way and tried to open it. Zim was the most desperate of the two. Miss Sanchez quickly yelled,

"ZIM! Tashita matta suunto." Zim stopped his struggle with the doorknob and turned to face her. She began to speak English again.

"Zim, please listen. Come here." She held out her hand. Zim walked slowly over to her, as if he were in a trance. He turned around and said,

"It's in here, but I don't know where," he said, pointing to his PAK. Miss Sanchez whispered,

"Finally. Stay still, this is going to hurt a little." She somehow took a little scalpel out of her hair and sliced into the PAK. Zim winced but did not scream. Dib let go of the doorknob and walked over to them. Miss Sanchez didn't look at him, but Zim did.

"Heh. I've gotta lot of explaining to do, kid. Ach..." He whimpered. Miss Sanchez cut a little deeper and whispered,

"They put it in really deep. Damn it . . . wait, yes. There it is. Come here, you little tracking device of doom...." She took out a pair of what appeared to be the world's smallest tweezers, which looked very high tech, and inserted them into the PAK, then took them out again. It had caught nothing, but the woman stared at the tweezers with hatred. Dib was about to say something, but then noticed a little bright blue flash emit from between the tweezers. She crushed the thing between the tweezers' fingers until the light stopped blinking. She then dropped the device into her palm and threw it out the open window.

"Done," she announced. "Okay, Zim?" He turned around again and threw his arms around her knees.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou....I was starting to lose my mind." Miss Sanchez picked him up and said,

"You're welcome, sweetie. Have you had any contact with the others?"

"No. I couldn't, not with that stupid thing on me. Oh, geez, where're my manners? Your highness, may I introduce Dib, probably the smartest and most open-minded human on planet earth. Dib, my Queen, Tallest Miyuki."

Dib was flabbergasted. Was this for real? He didn't know how to react. Should he bow? Was this a joke? Was Zim in on this with the social worker? But then that tweezer operation.. . . Eh. He bowed.

"Oh, child, stand up. It's alright. Zim, I trust you two are friends?"

"We will be soon." She put Zim down and waited.

Instantly, Dib began to babble and point at them both. Zim caught the words 'alien', 'holy shit', 'end of the world', 'wish', and 'camera'. Then the human boy stopped. He wanted to scream out profanities like never before. Here he had two aliens, one of which had just performed a tiny operation on the other, and he had no cameras, no way to prove that he had this, right here, in his classroom.

Zim began to speak. His voice was suddenly relaxed and calm. He sounded like a counselor speaking to a disturbed child.

"Like I said, there's a lot to be explained. Sit down." Dib obeyed and plopped down onto the nearest desk. "I am not here to destroy Earth, Dib. Not at all. Many years before my birth, there was a great war on Irk. But it was not with another race of aliens, but a personal one. Irken versus Irken. There were three Tallest in the war, Lady Miyuki here, Alonz, and Dargas. Alonz and Dargas wanted to take over the universe with the Irken military, but my Queen wanted to fight for universal peace. Being the oldest Tallest of the three, her dream was shaken off as the ideas of a crazy old fool and ignored. The other two started to train smeets... that is, baby Irkens, to become great, merciless soldiers of destruction and doom.

"During her reign on Irk, the Massive was being built to accommodate massive, no pun intended, amounts of machinery, weaponry, troops and for some reason, snacks. I still don't understand what it is with the Tallest and snacks.... Anyway, Miyuki decided that something needed to be done. She had witnessed many horrific battles between her soldiers of freedom and Alonz and Dargas' soldiers of doom. So, she decided that she would mess around with the downloading system that was used on new-born smeets...are you getting all this?"

Dib, in a complete trance, simply nodded with pure interest in his eyes. Zim continued.

"I happened to be the first smeet to have my download screwed up, but not the only one. I was quite defective, and caused a lot of not-so-good things to happen on Irk. I kinda plunged it into darkness a couple of times as a child...hehe....wow. Anyway, when I was old enough, Miyuki took me and many, many other Irkens like me, to a secret base, unknown to Alonz and Dargas. She told us everything: that we were her soldiers. She told us the truth behind our deficiencies, and somehow, none of us were offended. She explained the war that was going on above our heads, and the horrors of it. We all vowed to end the war and make peace with the universe. She gave us all assignments, as spies, soldiers, educators, scientists, whatever.

"But she spoke to me about my assignment in private before speaking of it to the other soldiers. I was to be the leader of the revolution if she ever died or was exiled and kept out by force. The word traveled quickly among the rest of her soldiers, and had to be kept extremely quiet. I already had the reputation of being the most bothersome of the defective smeets, and we could use that to our advantage. I went before Alonz and Dargas and gave them a great performance: I was loud, determined and evil in my acts. And that is what leaders want: a soldier who would fight to the death, determined to wipe out all other life-forms. I was placed on many different assignments by them as a pilot, scientist, Invader and so on. And each day for every job, I had a field day. I mesed up so many missions and even got the chance to rampage my own hideous, genocidal city. It sounds terrible, I know.

"Of course, I was soon hated. I was blamed for the deaths of two Tallest, Miyuki being one, and Dargas. By that time, however, there were three new Tallest: Spork, Red and Purple. They are the definition of asshole, really. They were growing at a rapid pace and so were inaugurated as the new Tallest after Alonz died. Sad thing is, they're almost the same age as me.... Anyway, Dargas, Red, Purple and Spork wanted Miyuki out of power because she was the only thing standing in their way of universal conquest. They were plotting to murder her. Thankfully for us, a soldier of peace overheard them making the plans for her murder to look like suicide. Miyuki came to me. I was a scientist at the time at Station Nine on planet Vort, and she told me to stage a fake murder on her. I created something I call the "Infinite Absorbing Blob". This thing could absorb someone and, when given the order via remote control, could spit them back out again safely, but only she and I knew that. Miyuki then came to the lab I worked at, and asked how everything was going. I jumped in and became the loud, obnoxious little jerk you know so well. She pretended that she did not know me. I introduced my creation, and using the remote control secretly, ordered it to absorb her. It went very well. I was accused of murdering her. The other three Tallest pretended to be upset with me, and changed my position. Then I wreaked havoc with a huge freakin' robot and stampeded my city. I was soon banished.

"Before I was sent away, I snuck the control to another Irken soldier at the station. I explained the blob to her and told her to wait to let Miyuki out. She was safe inside the blob, even after it escaped from the lab and went out to destroy. I don't actually know when you were released, my Queen." She laughed and answered,

"Oh, I think it was a week or so after. A few days after my release, your blob absorbed Spork as well. He's still in there. I think Dargas was smooshed by your rampaging robot moment." Zim beamed. Dib raised his hand sheepishly.

"Yes, dear?" Miyuki smiled at him.

"Uh, yeah. Stupid question, really. I was just interested to know what it was like to be in that thing."

"Oh, squishy. I felt fat. Imagine that, right?"

"And what about that chip? In Zim's pak?"

"I can answer that," Zim replied. "Before I was banished, I was given a trial with the two remaining Tallest. I was told my fate, and had my identification switched from Invader to food service drone. They wanted to keep me in contact, however. Not to speak with me, but to make sure I was behaving myself. I was just that dangerous. They placed the chip inside my pak while I was blindfolded. I didn't know what it looked like, what color it was, or where in my pak they placed it. They threw me off by making several hundred incisions in the pak, and man, did that hurt. This thing can feel pain if ordered to, or to an extent. Then I was shipped off to that dreaded planet."

"So..." Dib sounded very confused. "How the hell did you get here?"

"I escaped. There was no tight security system at the time, so all I did was run out of the back-room of the food place I slaved at. I heard about the Great Assigning, where new Invaders were given their assignments to conquer planets. I arrived and put on my obnoxious 'lookit me!' face. I was very pushy and acted completely oblivious to the damages I had caused in the past. And since Red and Purple tend to get annoyed very easily, they believe they humored me into thinking I was going to a real planet. I was supposed to die, but Miyuki had informed me a while before her 'death' that there was a rendezvous planet. It was unknown to the Irken soldiers of doom, and so Miyuki chose Earth as the planet and this city as the point. She found the coordinates and everything. I memorized them and found my way there. Ever since I arrived on Earth, I had to keep up my fake act as wanna-be conqueror. I talked to myself in an insane manner, fought you, acted stupid, and often came close to destroying the planet, but as you know, never succeeded, all on purpose. The chip was sensitive-it recorded all I said and did. Someone was actually monitoring me, and I couldn't screw up the revolution by saying one wrong thing. In fact, we probably already did blow our cover when Miyuki spoke to me in Irken dialect. But that was to be expected. I didn't know what her disguise was going to be like. I had to keep mine blatantly Irken for her to find me. I'm surprised at how quickly this happened, to be honest."

Dib raised his hand again. Miyuki nodded.

"So, that means that you never intended to take over Earth. Ever."

"Correct," Both Irkens answered.

"Dib," Zim suddenly fell to one knee, "I'm so sorry for all the shit I put you through. I promise, I will make it up to you. When we win this war, I will let you hand me over to your government for testing. I want the Earth to know that you were right all along." Dib's eyes grew larger than ever before. Here was Zim, a rebel from a distant planet, who had just told Dib the truth behind his arrival to Earth, being the most quiet and well-spoken person Dib had ever met, giving himself up selflessly.

"And Dib, don't reject my offer," he added. "This is my request, and I would be offended if you didn't take it. On Irk, when someone gives another a request or promise, it needs to be respected."

"Uh....geez. Can I at least get back to you on that?" Dib scratched the back of his neck. Zim rose to both feet and replied,

"Fair enough. But I'll let you know now that if you reject my offer, I will end up controlling you into taking me to the Earth authorities. Is that understood?"

"Yes. Um, Miyuki, your highness?"

"Yes, Dib?" She answered lightly.

"Can I see what you look like?" He glanced at Zim, who looked aghast at Dib's request. Dib was expecting Zim to scream and hit him for saying such a thing, but he didn't. Miyuki also looked surprised, but she nodded and answered,

"Yes." She stood up and took her wig off. She peeled the fake flesh from her face to reveal her true form. Dib stared in amazement.

She was beautiful. Her eyes were bright blue and so full of life, despite her old age. Her skin was wrinkled, leathery and faded. Her face was lined with wrinkles, there were dark green bags under her worn eyes. She was very old. She actually looked like someone who was motherly and caring. Her arms were long and slender, both of which were traced with visible veins. Dib could see her bones through them. She had a long face, and a warm smile. Beneath her human clothing, Dib could see the trace of her blue leader uniform. Her antennae were long and worn out, but they had a graceful, thick curve to them that Dib found amazing to look at. He had never met an older woman...erm... alien queen, who was so wonderful to look at.

"Oh, and Dib, sweetie," she spoke softly, " I can read minds. That's how I knew you were planning to commit suicide when you arrived home."

"Whoa, what?" Zim nearly shouted. "You were going to kill yourself? WHY?"

"I just-look, I don't plan on it anymore. I want to help in your revolution."

"I was hoping you would," Zim replied. He gave Dib a paranoid, concerned look. Dib felt uncomfortable, and broke the silence.

"So, then the Zim I knew... that was all an act? You aren't the loud, obnoxious little thing I know?" Zim laughed out in his familiar way and answered,

"Nope! I love to act. One of my favorite things to do, really. On Irk, we aren't allowed to have any individuality. However, the act did become a little annoying after a while, because I actually had to act without taking a break. All that screaming and yelling and talking maniacally, it hurts the throat a lot. No, I'm a quiet little guy. It sounds weird, huh. Listen, we should get going. My Queen, have you set up a base yet?"

"I'm afraid I couldn't. My Cruiser crashed in a desert in Arizona, and everything I brought to set up a base was destroyed. I was able to fix the Cruiser to an extent, and traveled here alone. The others, however, have an underground base near the ocean. I assume you have one as well?"

"Of course, My Queen. We should go there first and contact the others. Dib, you should come as well. Let's go." Dib, still utterly amazed by this new revelation from his former-mortal-enemy, followed Zim and Miyuki towards the door. They quickly replaced their disguises and walked out. Miyuki lifted Zim up in her arms and carried him out. Dib viewed this as rather strange, but he said nothing.

Dib ended up leading the way to Zim's house. He glanced back at the two Irkens behind him and noticed that Zim had his arms around Miyuki's neck like a little child. She didn't seem to mind, either. She was holding him very gently, the way a mother would. Dib would ask later.

They reached their destination safely. Miyuki let Zim down. He opened the door and pushed the robo-parents out of the way. He held the door open for Miyuki and closed it as soon as Dib stepped in.

"Whoa! You almost pushed me out, Zim!"

"Sorry. I got a little paranoid. I'm still in acting mode, to be honest."

"Yeah...." Zim shrugged and led them to the elevator in the living room.

"Computer, the act is over finally. We can speak as we are normally." The computer answered sarcastically,

"Zim, I'm a computer, not a being of flesh and blood. This IS how I communicate."

"No, I mean like we can drop the act. No more acting stupid or like we don't know what's going on."

"That was an act?"

"Oh, shut up. Take us, meaning me, Dib and the Queen Tallest Miyuki, to the communication bay."

"Yes, sir. Welcome to the base, your majesty." Miyuki replied,

"Thank you, intelligent computer. You do your people a great service in assisting us in our battle for universal peace."

"I'm flattered," the computer said with a hint of artificial embarrassment. The floor opened up, allowing the three people to step onto the platform. It lowered at a quick and smooth pace, and soon they found themselves in a huge room, almost the size of two football fields. Dib gasped in wonder at this amazing place.

"Now," Zim announced to Miyuki, "you may contact anyone you wish, my Queen. Who do you need to reach the most urgently?" He put his hands to a keyboard with a camera and speaker attached.

"I can do it myself, dear. I think it would be best if you spoke to your friend. He looks a little over-bewildered by this technology. Maybe you should explain some things to him. Would you be willing to teach him our language as well?"

"I would love to, my Queen."

"Good. Oh, and Zim? You don't have to call me "my queen" or "your highness". 'Miyuki' or mother will do just fine." Zim bowed and said,

"Yes, ma'am." He ran over to Dib.

"Hey, you. I'm going to teach you how to speak and read Irken." Dib's eyes grew even larger.

"Really? Wow. This is incredible...I mean, I can't believe it! I- oh, man. This is SO cool.... Oh! Um, don't take offense to this or anything, Zim, I want to ask you...um, what's up with you and her being all cuddly and such?"

"Eh? Oh, that. Back home, she believed in loving care for smeets, not the abuse the Military trainers put us through. She cared for her soldiers like children, me being one of them. She was the only person to ever hug me, or anyone for that matter. She is a mother-figure. She learned about mothers and love when she was sent to invade a planet when she was an Invader. Being on the planet with families made her realize that she was a death machine and had been brainwashed at birth. She learned that love was a wonderful thing and our people were shielded from it. So she changed her ways and became the greatest ruler Irk has ever known."

"Oh. Okay. Ah, geez...this is so awkward. This-this is so weird, Zim. Like I did not expect you to be..."

"Not psycho? I know. Heh. It's kinda funny when you really think about it. I wanted to let you in on it before, but I really could not risk it until I knew it was safe. I'm surprised you don't think I'm trying to trick you or anything. I mean, if I were the Zim you knew, I would have locked you inside a tube to study you like a little experiment after lulling you into this false sense of security." Dib's eyes darted suddenly around the room. Zim laughed and said,

"Don't worry. You're safe here. I'm not that kind of person. You know that now. You can trust me. Can I trust you in return?" He held out a clawed hand. Dib eyed the room once more, then stared into Zim's eyes. Could he trust the alien? This was a little too odd, now that he thought about it. Dib had been so desperate to learn more about Zim that he must have fallen straight into a trap. Yeah, that was probably it. Damn it.

Then again, Zim was acting different. He was so calm. And he wasn't pushing Dib to shake hands. He was waiting patiently. His face was even relaxed. Before, he always looked so stressed, so angry. Now, it was like all the stress had drained from his face. He looked happy, alive. Dib looked over to Miyuki. Zim had looked like he wanted to cry when he saw her. She didn't seem evil. She was the sweetest woman Dib had ever met. And that was really saying something, considering his past experiences with female doctors, teachers and students. He also had to deal with the fact that he hadn't been born normally. He was created by his father. That was a nice, pleasant thing to know. He remembered all the suicides he'd wanted to attempt when he found out, and it suddenly made him feel sick.

"Dib, sweetie, let it go." Miyuki's voice called over to him. "Being sad doesn't make pain go away. It makes it worse." Dib nodded and answered,

"I know. It just hurts a lot sometimes." Zim looked confused.

"What are you two talking about?" Miyuki answered in Irken. Zim listened and nodded as he came to understand the problem.

"Hey, Dib. Why don't you ask one of the human doctors to help you? Wouldn't that be the wise thing to do?" Dib laughed out.

"Right, Zim. Very cute. If I did that they would throw me in a mental institution and lock me up forever. I wouldn't be considered 'suicidal' or 'depressed'. I'm insane to them, remember? They want to keep me out of society." Zim dropped his head and stared, slightly ashamed at himself, at his feet and mumbled,

"Sorry. I kinda forgot for a moment there."

"Yeah. Sure."

"So, I'm guessing you won't be able to trust me, huh. I understand. I'm going to have to wipe your brain of all that you've seen and heard today, though. So if you would just step over here, I can-"

"I trust you, Zim," Dib yelled quickly. His voice echoed off the walls. Miyuki nearly jumped out of her skin, while Zim just stared at Dib. The human lowered his voice and repeated himself.

"I trust you. I really do want to help you in your revolution. I'm serious. I wish you could have told me about this when we first met. Why didn't you just write it down for me?"

"Because, one: we had already started off on the wrong foot. Two, you hated me from the beginning, and three, I hadn't taught myself how to write in fluent human English yet. And fourth, possibly, my handwriting could have been monitored as well. Irkens are great at linguistics, and we have English as a second dialect. All they would have to do is figure out the symbols I use and BOOM! They know what I'm telling you."

A loud beeping suddenly filled the room. Zim suddenly grabbed Dib's arm and threw him behind a ridiculously large piece of machinery.

"Do not, and I mean DO NOT, move from this spot. Don't move, don't make a sound and don't let them see you."

"Wait, who?" Dib tried to ask, but Zim pushed him behind the machine and grabbed Miyuki as well. He quickly led her to the same spot and repeated himself to her in Irken. He then raced over to his monitor and pressed a button.

The Tallests' huge faces appeared on-screen. Before speaking, they scanned the room for any sign of activity. Then they spoke.

"Zim."

"My Tallest!" Zim had resumed his familiar, Invader-act, sounding very much like the annoying little Irken messed-up Dib knew so well.

"Do you know why we are calling you?"

"I don't. Is there a mission you need an Invader for? Are you near the Earth? Wanna see me blow it up?"

There was a pause. The Tallest looked at each other, smiled slyly, then turned back to Zim. Red spoke.

"Actually, you're very close. We wanted to let you know that we are right by the planet known as Neptune in this 'milky-way' galaxy you told us of. Quite close to Earth. We've decided that this planet is to be used to its full potential. You've told us so much about the indigenous peoples there, and we realized that they could be the perfect slaves! Sounds grand, don't it?" Zim's antennae fell. He held himself together, somehow. It was the hardest thing he'd ever try to do.

"I-I...uh....yeah. It sounds....ohmyGodIgottagobye! GERMS!! EVERYWHERE!! ARGH!!" He shut off the transmission. Miyuki stepped out from behind the machine and ran over to Zim. He looked like he would be sick. Dib stood up and dusted himself off, then walked over to the two aliens. Miyuki was speaking to Zim in Irken. They were both shaking, and were definitely very nervous. Dib noticed that Zim's skin had faded to a sickly, almost yellow tint. He had been scared out of his freakin' little mind.

Miyuki picked the little creature up and held him tight, still speaking quietly. He didn't make a sound, but Dib was sure he was crying. He had never seen Zim so ultra-sensitive. Normally, the alien would have laughed it off and gone off to destroy something. But now he seemed so small, so helpless, like a child who had suffered a bad dream.

"Shh, shh..... Zim, nanche do shitere nassanto kiei seloyo-ei de. Atchma gote-de sindeki nogreste-"

"JAH!" Zim screamed. He began to scream in English. He'd grown so used to it by now that it was innate to him.

"NO! They DO know-they DO. And it's not your fault, my Queen. I'm to blame."

"How?"

"I just am."

Miyuki went quiet for a moment, still holding her soldier like a child, then whispered,

"Do you realize that I am the one who yelled at you in Irken? Do you realize that they were going to learn about the revolution eventually? Don't be scared."

"I'm not scared," Zim hissed through his teeth. "I'm just- feeling a little trepidation, is all." Miyuki made a face and responded,

"Only a little? Zim, you're terrified, and I don't say that to make you feel insignificant. I can't allow you to become frightened of something when you have already pledged your life to fighting it." Zim mumbled something incoherent. Miyuki asked him to decipher it. Dib noticed that she wasn't growing angry, but was talking to Zim like he was the disturbed child now.

"I said I lied. I am afraid of them, only because I know what they are capable of. Agent Carr said they were planning on torturing you before killing you, and they were planning the same on me. He said they wanted to use the Kintracho-chofi. I'd self-destruct before they'd strap me into that torture machine. I've known them long enough to know that they are pretty stupid and horrible leaders, but still dangerous and diabolical enough to do something sick to their own people. Fucking bastards."

"Thank you for telling me that, Zim. Now, to explain to Dib-"

"I understand the situation already, ma'am." Dib said with a hint of confidence in his voice. Miyuki nodded and let go of Zim. She stood up to her full height and said,

"Then we need to get to work. Zim, you and I shall call the others. Dib, you go up the main house and fix it up-make it look less freakish. Like the lawn gnomes and such. We need to make this place look less defective and more human. Those two poor excuses for leaders will be sending spies around this general area. Let's move, people."

Zim and Dib nodded and set off on their tasks.

"GIR!" Zim yelled loudly. A small hatch beneath him popped open, causing Zim to fall down. GIR peeked its little head up and said,

"YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS?" Zim got back to his feet and answered,

"GIR, I have someone you need to meet."

"Okey-dokey." The little android lifted itself up and closed the hatch. When its bright cyan eyes fell on Miyuki, it actually gasped and exclaimed,

"She's PRETTY! Awwww...master has a GIRLFRIEND! WEE-OOO! Can I go to da wedding!? I wanna be the flower girl! YEAH!!" Miyuki chuckled.

"Hello, GIR. It's a pleasure to meet you finally. My name is Miyuki. I'm the only female Tallest from Irk. Do you understand?"

"I do. How old are you!"

"GIR! That's not acceptable." Zim snapped. "Now, go help Dib with the yard. He's on our side now." The robot looked confused.

"But I thought he wanted to save Earth."

"No, GIR. The real mission is to destroy the two bad Tallest and their army. We are the good Irkens. If Earth is destroyed, that means no more television, no more 'Angry Monkey', and no more Suck-Monkies. EVER. So, we need to keep Earth safe."

GIR's reaction was expected. It screamed and babbled insanely. It apparently had agreed to help them in their revolution because it grabbed Dib's arm and ran to the elevator. The two went up, GIR still shrieking. Zim and Miyuki walked up to the computer screen and typed in a name. The computer sent it out and instantly got a reply.

"Invader Chai here." The screen was fuzzy at first, then the Invader hit something. The screen adjusted itself. The Invader gasped.

"My Tallest Miyuki! Welcome to Earth! When did you arrive?" The Invader was female. Her eyes were dark purple, she seemed to be the same height as Zim, and had a low voice. The basic female Irken. She looked at Zim and yelled,

"AH! I can't believe this! We are ready to begin the revolution! This is amazing!"

"Yes. Chai, I need you to contact the following list of soldiers and tell them to meet at this location." Miyuki typed up a list of names, a location, and sent it to Chai. Meanwhile, Chai and Zim had a small chat.

"I miss you so much, Chai," Zim whispered. "I feel sick without you. I really do."

"I feel the same, Zim. I can't wait for us to get together again. It's going to be incredible. Once those two rejects are out of tyrannical power, Miyuki can change those stupid laws. I want to be with you again."

'I lo-" Zim suddenly was interrupted by the all-too familiar buzzing alarm that sounded when the Tallest were calling.

"Shit," Chai muttered. She shut off the screen but left the audio on. Zim heard her screen flicker on, and the voices of the Tallest filled Chai's base.

"Hello, sirs. Invader Chai here. For what do I have the privilege of speaking to my leaders?" Silence. Zim listened carefully. This time, it was Purple who spoke.

"Chai, we have a bit of an emergency. It seems that vile woman, Miyuki, is alive and well. And she is with the defective reject Zim." Chai acted surprised and angered.

"How DARE that creature be alive! How!? Where did you get this information?"

"The device we placed on Zim picked up Irken dialect. The voice matched Miyuki."

"Have you told others?"

"No. This is why we have called you. You, being our best (and most lovely)," he added sleazily, " female Invader, would do well in a mission such as this. You know how to speak with other females well, and considering how well you can communicate with males, we have decided that you will be the one to assassinate Miyuki, and bring the defective to us, alive. We need to interrogate him. Good luck on your mission. Here are the Earth's coordinates as well as Zim's base. Remember, we need him alive, and her dead." The transmission ended. Chai waited three minutes, then switched the screen back to Zim's base.

"Wow," she said. "That was interesting. I want to be the one to slit Purple's throat, okay? He's such a jerk. Oh-I just got your email. Wow. That's a lot of people. You will not be let down, my Queen. Zim, I look forward to seeing you again."

"Wonderful, dear," Miyuki replied. "Now go, before it's too late. We will see you in two days."

"Good luck, my Queen. Goodbye for now, Zim." Chai signed off. Miyuki turned off the screen, typed in another name and sent it out. While they waited for the next Invader to speak with them, Miyuki asked Zim about Chai.

"When did you two start to see each other?" Zim shrugged and answered,

"I think, maybe, when we were in Invader combat training. Our coach set us up to fight, and Chai kicked the crap out of me. Later that night she snuck into the males locker room to apologize for being so rough. We hadn't really known each other that well, but we got into talking about stuff. She told me that she was nervous about the revolution and wasn't sure what she would do if it blew up in our faces. I told her I wouldn't let it go wrong. We ended up falling in love that night. I'm so happy you showed us what love was, otherwise Chai would have been just another female I had to fight to rank myself up."

"That's wonderful. The-oh! He replied." Miyuki switched the screen on again.

"Invader Skoodge signing in, ma'am. How are you, my Queen?" He was still pudgy and short, but he spoke with the same confidence he had acquired after being mentally and physically abused by the Tallest. Skoodge was one of the few people in the universe who could take bad experiences and use them to better himself.

"Fine, thank you. Yourself?" Miyuki answered. Skoodge laughed and said,

"Can't complain. I'm guessing we will all be meeting at the rendevous base soon?"

"In two days, dear. I've already contacted Invader Chai and gave her a list of people to contact. I am giving you a list as well. I'm sending you an email with the names and the rendevous point coordinates and time in it."

"Great. This is so exciting. We're gonna win this thing, I know it. Hey Zim. How's it going?"

"Alright. Hey, I'm real sorry for that Hobo 13 accident. I hope you aren't damaged from it badly." Skoodge waved a hand and said,

"Nah. The bruises and cuts were gone after a few months."

"I meant mentally."

"Nothing at all. I'm alright. I'm just psyched to begin the revolution. I say bring it on!"

"Neat." Zim smiled. Miyuki cut in.

"Alright, here it is. I'm going to contact the others. Good luck, Invader Skoodge." He bowed and signed off.

"This is wonderful," Miyuki commented. "Everything is going alright so far." Zim nodded in agreement.

"SO, WHATTAWE GOTTA DO, BIG HEAD BOY!?" GIR shouted loudly at Dib. The human shrugged and answered,

"I guess we start with those gnomes. Can you disable them so they won't attack me?"

"YEP!" GIR's head opened up and out came a thin wire. The android swung the wire around rapidly and sliced each gnome in half. The gnomes sputtered and sparked, then died. Dib's eyes were huge as dinner plates at this amazing display of combat by the little robot. GIR smiled big and said,

"All done." Dib nodded and replied,

"Yeah. Let's get to work, then." He ripped a gnome's bottom half out of the ground and said,

"How exactly do we get it to the dump? We can't really just throw it into a trash container." The question was answered as soon as it was asked. The half-a-gnome jumped out of Dib's arms and exploded. When the dust settled, there was nothing left. The others followed suit. Dib grinned and said,

"Wow. That was fucking awesome. Now, the actual house. We'll need to change-I dunno, really. What would need to be changed?" He thought about it, then decided he would ask Zim. He really wasn't sure what to do. He called GIR back into the house and re-boarded the elevator. They went back down into Zim's main base. The first thing Dib saw was another Irken's face on the huge computer screen. It was male, Dib decided, because its eyes were crimson, and the antennae were shaped as Zim's were. This one was built bigger than Zim as well. So far, with Dib's encounter with females, their eyes were more feminine shades, and their antennae had a more sensual curve to them.

The Irken on screen jumped suddenly and screamed.

"What the hell! Why is a human in your base!?" Zim waved his hand and answered,

"That's Dib, the human who is going to assist us in the revolution. Dib, I would like you to meet Agent Angra. Angra, Dib." The Irken's antennae twitched slightly, but he nodded and hissed through his teeth,

"Nice to meet you, Dib."

"Nice to meet you, Agent Angra, sir." Dib replied cautiously. He did not like this Irken; he seemed very nasty and unlikable. Zim noticed the cold silence between them and said,

"So. Back to business. You will receive our email soon, and call the others. We will see you in two days." Angra nodded and said,

"Yes. Will the, uh, human child be there?"

"Yeah. Why?" The Irken shook his head and said,

"Nothing. I must go. Agent Angra signing off." He shut his screen off.

"Oh, that insolent little jerk!" Zim kicked at the air. "I absolutely cannot stand that bastard. Dib, be careful around him. Angra has a prejudice against humans. I dunno what his problem is, he always had a bad attitude. He could learn from Skoodge, you know." Miyuki patted Zim's head and said,

"He just had a few bad experiences with humans. His behavior towards Dib is normal and to be expected. But you are right: Dib, sweetie, when you come to the gathering, stay with Zim. We can't risk anything bad happening." Dib nodded in agreement. Zim crossed his arms and said,

"Anyway, how did you do outside? No more gnomes? Did they self-destruct?"

"Yeah. It was pretty cool. What else needed to be done?"

"Well, we'll probably be destroying my house tonight, but we'll need a place to stay. Do you mind if we stay at your home if we do?"

"Not at all. Uh...if you were going to destroy the house tonight, then why did I go out and destroy those gnomes?"

"Hmm? Oh, that. We needed to get GIR outta here so he wouldn't get in the way. But he still really needs supervision when he goes out, or he ends up bringing unwelcome things home."

"Ah. I understand." Dib laughed, "GIR would be the one to mess things up."


	2. Funny What You Learn, Isn't It

**I've Been Harboring a Secret**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or its respective characters**

**Chapter Two: Funny What You Learn, Isn't It.**

**Please Enjoy and review maturely. -Juana**

The rest of the day and night consisted of Zim, Dib, Miyuki and GIR, in their disguises, packing up necessary items that could not be re-contained in the capsule that had given birth to Zim's base. Outside, Zim gave the place one last look and said,

"I liked this neighborhood a lot. Lots of crazy people, so many memories and adventures that happened here. I'll miss it." He sighed and pushed a button on a little reddish-purple device. At first, nothing happened. Then Dib felt the ground shake beneath his feet. He stared as the house rumbled along with the shaking earth, and gasped as it shrank. It lost its shape, and soon became just a huge hole with several hundred tunnels protruding from it. Zim walked up to the hole and reached down. He recovered a little drill-like piece of equipment.

"This," he explained to an amazed Dib, "is how I created my house. I drew a little image of what I wanted, and this thing developed it. Neat, huh?"

"Yeah. If humans had these things, no one would be homeless. Wow...." Dib was amazed by all this Irken technology. It blew his mind. Part of him suddenly desired to be one of these pint-sized people. He shook the thought out of his head and told himself that there was nothing wrong with being human. He looked back at Zim and noticed that the little person looked very depressed. It concerned him.

"Zim? You're gonna win this thing. I know it." Zim forced a smile and replied,

"Yeah. I know it, too." Dib put his hand on Zim's shoulder and sighed. They stared at the gaping emptiness that now stood in place of Zim's house for a few seconds in silence. Miyuki broke the silence and said,

"We should go. Before any of the Earth authorities arrive. Come, Dib, show us your home." Dib nodded and said,

"Yes, ma'am. Zim? Snap out of it, man." Zim was in a daze. He shook his head and nodded as well. GIR jumped into its master's arms and asked,

"Where we gonna live now?" Zim answered,

"With Dib, until we win the war. Then we can find a great home on Earth, or Irk, whichever feels better, and we can all be happy forever. No more being fake, no more yelling, no more shit. Just happiness."

"YAY!!!" GIR shrieked. It liked all the happy promises.

Db led the way to his home, followed directly by Miyuki, then Zim, still carrying GIR. While walking, Dib wondered how his father and sister would deal with having strangers in the house. Miyuki would be an odd sight- an actual adult female in their home. Dib had never had a mother, nor would he ever, and Gaz-well, her mother had died long ago. She would feel weird about having a mother-like person around. Next-what would happen if his father and sister caught Zim and Miyuki without their disguises on? Would they laugh it off as some sort of joke, or would they go insane?

He would find out soon enough.

Dib found himself opening the front door. He didn't remember the walk at all. Miyuki, he turned to see, was scanning the house and seemed fascinated by it. Her mouth was gaping slightly, as though she had never seen such a home before.

"Amazing," she whispered to Dib. "You must be the most intelligent of the human species. Your home is very much like an Irken one. Incredible." Dib smiled and turned red at the compliment.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Dib? Who the hell is that?" Gaz stood in the back on the living room, her face away from that brain-washing device known as the Game-Slave II. Her expression was that of surprise and slight fear. "Is that the social worker from that stupid assembly?" She had no problem with expressing her opinion to anyone, it seemed. Miyuki stepped forward and replied,

"Hello, dear. Yes, I am that social worker from that stupid assembly. Except I prefer to be called Miss Sanchez. Is that understood?"

"Whatever. Why are you here? To help my insane idiot brother? You should send him to one of those insane homes."

"No. Dib, please take us on a tour of your home." Dib held his head up and answered,

"Sure thing. Follow me, then." Miyuki did as she was told. Zim walked in and looked around. He never really liked the living room, but GIR leapt out of his arms and landed on the couch happily. Gaz didn't seem to mind much. Zim decided to let the little robot remain there for the time being. He quickly ran after the other two and past Gaz, who was surprised at actually seeing him in the house.

After a brief scanning of the downstairs areas, Zim saw Dib's room for the first time. He shuddered as he stepped inside. The room was very dark, and covered in pictures of everything paranormal. Zim gasped as he saw several photographs of himself on a wall, tacked together with notes. He started to back out of the room, but Dib grabbed his arm.

"It's alright. I'm going to get rid of a lot of this stuff, I promise." Zim stared at Dib awkwardly, then asked to read the notes.

"Um...I guess, if you want to." He let Zim go. The Irken walked over to the photos and took the notes down. Dib watched Zim's artificial eyes scan the papers, then saw his lips move into a smile.

"Wow, Dib. You _are_ obsessive. These notes are really good. Wow...you actually noticed that? Even I have to look closely sometimes...."

"Which one are you talking about?"

"My antennae. How, from a distance, they look like metallic wire, but up close, you can see the little hairs on them. Pretty neat, huh?"

"It is. I was really surprised when I noticed it. I don't even remember how I was able to get so close to you." Zim laughed and said,

"Yeah. Sounds kinda sketchy to me." Dib nodded in agreement. Zim said something to Miyuki in Irken. She listened intently, then answered in English.

"Dib, Zim says that you are a very observant and intelligent human being. Therefore, he and I would like to ask a favor of you." Dib suddenly felt a bit uneasy. It wasn't that he was dreading what the favor could possibly be; he wasn't sure if he could rise to their expectations.

"We want you to become an official Spy-Agent." Dib felt his entire body go completely numb. There was no way she had just said that. No fucking way.

"Oh, man...for real? You actually want me to-to...holy shit...." Miyuki smiled.

"I believe, in my study of the human English, that your answer, translated, means yes?"

"YES! ABSOLUTELY! This-this is a dream come true! I can't believe this! Oh, my go-"

"Wonderful. In the next two days, there will be a meeting. You are welcome. You will be with Zim or myself, and we will have you orientated into our ranks. From that point on, we will regard you as one of our own. Do you understand?"

"I do. This is-this is incredible! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Please, Dib. Do not thank me so quickly. This war is going to be bloody and the chances of all three of us being destroyed is high. Please do not thank me for sending you to your death." Dib felt a fraction of his euphoria die, but it didn't stop him form being happy. This was what he'd always wanted: to be accepted, and here it was. Accepted into an alien race...it was phenomenal.

"Listen," Zim interrupted Dib's thoughts. "I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but could you show me where we can sleep? I'm actually kinda tired out."

"Yeah, sure. Um...I have room here on the floor. I can give someone a sleeping bag. That'll probably be you, Zim. Your highness, you can stay in our guest room. My dad will never notice, and if he does, you are Zim's aunt, visiting from Idaho."

"Alright. I like the way you think, Dib. Very smart child." Miyuki bowed before Dib. He turned red at this gesture of respect, and emulated her. She smiled again, then allowed Dib to show her to the guest room.

Dib arrived back five minutes later and helped Zim set up the sleeping bag on the floor. Zim seemed fascinated by the process of unrolling a portable bed onto the floor. It was so unlike the humans to have access to such an invention as this, in his mind, at least. He looked at the clock.

12:37. It was late. He crawled into the sleeping bag and snuggled up in it. Dib climbed into his own bed and stared at the ceiling. He was too excited to sleep. The events of the day raced through his mind. He had never felt such an adrenaline rush in his short life, and it was nowhere near the end. This was a rush that would last for a while, and he knew it.

However, even in his excitement, Dib was forced to speculate on the negatives as well. What if he was killed in battle? How would his family ever know how he died? What if the Irken soldiers of doom gained control of Earth? What if Zim and Miyuki were killed? They, apparently, were the top leaders in the revolution. If they were gone, who would lead? Even worse, what if the other Irkens didn't approve of Dib's entering their revolution? He remembered Agent Angra. That one particular guy did not seem to want Dib around him. Bad experiences with humans? Well, yeah. That was to be expected on planet Earth. Humans sucked.

"Dib?" Dib jumped out of his skin. Zim was staring directly at him, contacts off. Two, bright ruby discs that pierced through the darkness of the room.

"Yeah?"

"I sensed you were nervous about something. I'm a little concerned."

"Oh, no. Nothing. Just thin-"

"Why were you planning on killing yourself today?" Dib felt a sliver of shock run through his veins. Why did Zim still want to talk about this? It really wasn't his business.

"Listen, Zim, I really don't want to talk about it."

"But you should. Suicide is not a good thing to think about."

"How would you know?" Dib didn't get a reply right away. Zim fell silent and closed his eyes.

"Zim?"

"I knew a lot of people who did it back home. Disgustingly enough, it's become really common and now considered a norm by Irken standards. They do it if they fail a test, or if they feel worthless. Many do it after being shipped away to slave at Foodcourtia."

"Did you-"

"Almost. Then I decided it wasn't worth it. How could I fight the system if I wasn't alive? Permanent solution to a temporary problem. It scares me. That's why I'm being so pushy about you talking about it. It made me feel sick when Miyuki told you that she knew you were planning it. It really does frighten me, Dib. Please tell me why you were gonna do it." Dib hesitated. Should the alien really know the real reasons? Would he even understand? It was weird to have this person, now a total stranger, ask about his personal life. The fact that Zim had always been the one to attempt murder on Dib was getting in the way.

'_But he never wanted to kill you, stupid.'_ Dib sighed.

"I found out a while back that I'm not entirely human. At least, I don't think I'm entirely human. I was snooping around my dad's room for any photos of my mother. See, I never actually had a mom. She was never, ever discussed in the house. No visits to her grave. No pictures, nothing. So I was hoping I'd find something. Instead, I found a file in a drawer labeled :Project H-DIB: Highly-Developed Intelligence Boy. Me. I read the files. I have no mother. I was created. Another stupid science project of my father's. That's all I am."

Silence.

"Shit, Dib. I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"I slashed my arms open that night for about three minutes before my dad came in and found me bleeding all over the bathroom floor. I had hid the files in his room again before I hurt myself, so he doesn't know I know. I had to be rushed to the ER. I nearly died that night. This happened during the summer, so I didn't miss any skool. That's why no one ever knew about it. Gaz never speaks about it. I remember seeing her cry for the first time ever. She was yelling at me, why was I so stupid, why was I trying to abandon her. That she loved me so much and couldn't stand losing me. I think I was laughing maniacally. I thought I was going to die, and I liked getting revenge on her for being such a bitch to me. But then I woke up a few days later, in a big white room, with her tear-drenched face being the first one I saw. I screamed for nearly two hours. I was angry, sick, disappointed.

"I was stuck in that stupid hospital for another month. I got a lot of therapy, but it didn't help. When I was allowed to go home, everyone was real quiet. Dad stayed away from his work to be with me, my sister forgot about her stupid game thing. But I didn't care. I escaped all the fake hugs, avoided all the stupid conversation attempts, and hid in my room a lot. I hated both of them more than anything. My dad came home one night to find me beating the crap out of Gaz with a baseball bat. I had blacked out completely. I broke one of her arms. She had bruises all over and she was bleeding all over. I could have killed her. When I woke up from the black out, I was back in the hospital, with her right next to me. She was awake, and wouldn't look at me. She's afraid of me now. I hate myself for it. She didn't deserve it. All she deserved was that first scare, of losing her only friend. It should have ended there. The doctor put me on all these pills to stop the black-outs, and to get rid of depressing thoughts, but they don't do shit."

Another silence. Dib could sense Zim's discomfort, because he could hear the little alien shifting in the sleeping bag.

"I'm not gonna hurt anyone, Zim. I promise."

"What about yourself? How can I trust you to stay safe on your own?"

"Because I'm in your revolution now. I have something to live for, to fight for. I want to help your people gain freedom. You guys are slaves to the system, am I correct?"

"Yes. You're sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Get some sleep." The door suddenly opened slightly. A pair of cyan green disks broke the repetitive blackness.

"Can I sleep in here too?" GIR sounded scared.

"Over here, GIR," Zim called softly. "I'm on the floor." GIR walked slowly over to Zim and crawled into the sleeping bag.

"That thing sleeps with you?"

"Heh. When the chip was still implanted in my pak, I didn't allow it unless I woke up and he was there. But now, I don't care. He's cute, I think. Like an annoying little brother who won't go away."

"I had a bad dream, master. I dreamed that the Tallest took you away from me and killed you. It was really scary..." The little robot threw its slinky-like arms around Zim's waist and started to cry.

"It's alright, buddy. Hopefully, that will never happen. Okay?" Zim sounded so different. He was being the sweetest thing Dib had ever known. The human sighed and started at his ceiling again. He felt sick. He should have never opened up to the little creature on the floor. Things were going to be weird between them now. Zim would be constantly paranoid, and would probably tell Miyuki everything.

Damn it all.

End **Chapter Two: Funny What You Learn, Isn't It.**

Please review maturely.


	3. A Small Change

**I've Been Harboring a Secret**

**Chapter Three: The Small Change**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or its respective characters. **

**You already know my little request. Now, READ! READ, I SAY!!!!**

'Wonderful,' Dib thought to himself as he looked out his window. It was dark and raining like mad outside. Zim was still wrapped up in the sleeping bag with GIR, asleep. Dib had thought Irkens rarely slept, but apparently they did. And when they did, they slept as though they were hibernating. Dib was able to step over Zim without waking him up.

Dib went to the bathroom first. He stared into the mirror. Who was this child that stared back? He looked different from the usual Dib. He felt different. Relieved. Amazed. And somehow, he felt relaxed. Everything that had happened seemed almost normal to him; he'd pursued the alien for so long that this was natural.

Too natural.

He needed to come back to a more real and familiar reality for a moment.

Dib lifted his arms and stared at the huge scars that ran across, along, over, under, everywhere. He had cut deep, and had gone around the entire arm several times. How he was still alive was a mystery to him.

"What are you thinking about?" Dib jumped a foot in the air. He threw his arms down and pivoted on his heels. Zim was leaning in the doorway, his right arm holding his left. GIR stood next to him, playing with a towel on the floor. Zim was extremely concerned, judging by the look on his face.

"Nothing," Dib answered. He felt embarrassed. Telling Zim what was had happened was one thing, but the alien catching a glimpse of the damage was another.

"Really. Then what persuaded you to look at the past?"

"I dunno. I just...I guess I needed to. I don't know. Can we let it go?" Zim shifted his brow, but agreed.

"Alright. Just promise me you'll let me know if anything is wrong."

"Sure." Dib left the bathroom, followed by Zim, who had no need of such a facility. When they reached the living room, they found Miyuki, or, shall we say, Miss Sanchez, speaking with Dib's father and Gaz.

"He's such a wonderful young man, really. I find him to be very intelligent and very sweet." She was talking about Dib.

"I know he is. If only he would end his insane rants about aliens and the like, he could be so much more," Prof. Membrane replied. Gaz looked up, and, upon seeing her brother, ran out quickly in the opposite direction.

'Hi, guys." Dib said quietly. He sat down next to Miyuki. Zim gabbed a chair next to Dib, and GIR jumped on Zim's head. No one spoke. Even GIR was quiet. Dib's father suddenly stood up and left the room, apparently uncomfortable.

"So," Dib began, "How did the two- I mean, three of you sleep?" Miyuki answered,

"Very well. Yourself?" Dib shrugged and answered,

"Okay. I see you've met my family."

"Oh, yes. Very nice people. A little stupid, oblivious, and close-minded, but nice nonetheless. Zim? How about you?"

"Alright. I like sleeping." Miyuki laughed.

"Makes sense. Now, today, before the meeting tomorrow night, we will rehearse procedures and discussions on the revolution. We will also introduce everyone to Dib, and Dib to everyone. So we can begin in here. Zim, what do you feel would be most important to discuss first?"

"I think it would be wise to tell our soldiers that the Tallest are on to us, and that we need to be extra careful and have our antennae raised at all times. We can't afford for someone to make an avoidable mistake. They need to know that the Tallest are going to search frantically for the two of us until they have us. Also, we need to tell everyone that the Tallest and their drones will be asking tons of questions, and that they will try to pressure people into letting something slip."

"Good thinking. Dib, have you any ideas?" Dib glanced up at her and answered sheepishly,

"Well, no, not really. I'm not sure what Irken meetings are like. I guess it would be a good idea to discuss how to use weapons or self-defense."

"How do you mean?"

"Like, to be careful to not whip out a laser gun when someone cracks a nasty joke or something like that. I dunno." Dib shrugged at his stupid answer. Miyuki was thinking the same thing, but did not show it. Instead, she agreed with him.

"Understandable. I think that everyone is already aware of everything you two just said, but yes, there is some brushing up needed. We will be starting defense classes, and Dib, you will be a student. Zim teaches self-defense amazingly. Invader Chai will teach you how to use Irken machinery and weaponry. She's incredible in that field. Invader Skoodge will is going teach you how to operate an Irken ship. Other Irkens will teach you various skills."

"I've heard of Skoodge before, but who is Invader Chai?" Dib asked.

"She's one of the most intelligent people in the operation," Zim said quickly.

"Oh. Okay."

Miyuki cleared her throat and began her rehearsal speech. Zim listened carefully, as did Dib. Sometimes she went from English to Irken, depending on the importance of the topic. Dib was fascinated by the language. It sounded a little like Japanese. He determined this after viewing tons of undubbed anime, and he thought it was beautiful.

When Miyuki wrapped her speech up, Zim flew to his feet and saluted her, then bowed. Dib emulated Zim quickly, but Miyuki waved her wrinkled, clawed hand.

"Don't worry about until tomorrow night. Zim, I want you to start Irken lessons with Dib. There are the basics that he'll need to know. There are lots of soldiers he won't be able to hold conversation with."

"Yes, ma'am!" Zim bowed again and turned to Dib. "Go get a pencil and some paper. We have work to do."

"Yeah," Dib answered. He ran to his room and grabbed a huge hunk of paper and a few pencils. He was even more excited now-Zim was going to teach him an alien language!

In the living room, Zim had somehow set up a small, rectangular structure that was transparent. Dib eyed it curiously, wondering what it was.

"Dib. Sit down and pay attention. You gotta pencil? Paper? Good. We'll start with the basics. 'Hello' in Irken is 'Nakhta'." The transparent machine suddenly lit up, and the word appeared on a holographic screen in both Irken and English.

"WOW! That's so cool!" Dib exclaimed. He quickly wrote the word and its translation on his paper. "Do I need to write it in Irken, too?"

"Nah. Takes up too much time. Next is 'how are you?' 'Kashiya dorino wa jugase'."

The holographic screen switched to the new phrase. Dib wrote it quickly.

"'My name is ...' 'Dib jas seto machka'. 'What is your name?' 'Machka jas jikito weto'. 'Nice to meet you'. 'Meeshtio sandekiyo tantan fuh'. 'Goodbye'. 'Sanka'. 'Hail, Miyuki'. 'Miyuki-Frovia, doshita."

Dib was sweating in his excitement. He was writing so fast, cramps were starting up in his hand. Next, Zim had Dib repeat the words. This went well, and was followed by Zim ordering Dib to turn the papers over. They had a quick conversation in Irken, and it went well. Zim patted Dib's head jokingly and said,

"You're a quick learner. I'm proud."

"You're a surprisingly good teacher," Dib commented playfully. Zim laughed and said vainly,

"I know, I know. No teacher is as great as ZIM!" He threw one fist up and positioned himself into a power stance. Dib laughed and said,

"That's the insane little alien I know. But I like the other one better." Zim got out of his pose and said,

"I do, too. Let's continue, shall we?" Zim started to teach Dib more complex words, how to pronounce names correctly, names of weapons, places, directions, vehicles, equipment, and how to perform an Irken salute, handshake, and other signs of respect. By the end of the morning, Dib could have been considered bilingual. He was such a fast learner that Zim wasn't actually sure what else could be taught for the day. He hadn't expected the boy to pick up on everything right away.

They went back into the kitchen to join up with Miyuki, who was writing almost feverishly. Dib jumped onto a chair and looked at what she was writing. It was fascinating to see her hand move quickly across a 'palm-pilot' type of machine. It was smaller, though. She was using a very thin stick to write, apparently the pen. She was writing very rapidly, and without error.

"This is just a little agenda for the meeting tomorrow night," she said suddenly. "What to discuss, really." Dib nodded. Zim jumped up and looked at the agenda.

"Pretty much everything we discussed earlier. This should be easy enough."

"Cool."

"Hey, Dib-human."

"Yeah?"

"I wish we could have been friends earlier. I really do."

"I do, too."

"Would you mind taking me to the mall?" Dib shifted his eyebrows.

"Why?" Zim shrugged and answered,

"I dunno. I heard somewhere that's where friends go when they spend time together. When we get back, I can start teaching you some Irken self-defense. Would that be okay, my Queen?" Miyuki paused her writing and answered,

"I wouldn't mind at all, dear. You should go out and have some fun before the real hell begins. Go pretend to be a carefree child for a while. It wouldn't hurt anyone." She was actually serious. She was probably the most lenient adult Dib had ever met. He shrugged and said,

"Okay. Let's go, then."

So, this mall...I've been here only once or twice, really. Didn't need to come. GIR likes to rent movies and hang out with the teenagers, but I never felt comfortable here alone. I hate being stared at."

Zim was wearing his usual, bad disguise, but with a plastic raincoat as an added accessory. And people were staring. Dib laughed and replied,

"Well, humans aren't exactly used to seeing a little green kid marching around in a dress."

"It's not a dress. It's the standard Irken uniform. I hate it, really. I want to be an individual, not some stupid conformist robot like everyone else on my planet. I've always wanted to wear something that wasn't red and black. Something cool. I never knew what else was out there to wear because I had never seen any other type of clothing. Except for the Vortians uniform, which also sucks. It wasn't 'till I got here that I saw jeans and t-shirts that people could mix and match whenever they wanted. I was almost shocked by it. Did you know I suffered from culture shock when I arrived here?"

"Nope. I'm gonna guess that you were shocked by the average humans height?"

"Yeah. That was the one that blew my mind. On Irk, average height is about three and four-quarters and below. I'm below average height, and Miyuki and the other Tallest are abnormal height. Irken history states that in the beginning, thirty-four millennia ago, the first Irkens were about one foot and eight inches high. They had no leaders and were very impressionable. So, when one of them had a sudden growth spurt, the others suddenly worshiped him due to the increase in height. To this day, the Irkens are still impressionable and let taller Irkens have control. I was different. Yes, I wanted to be tall, but I was one of the smallest Irkens on the planet. So my attitude grew to huge proportions. When Miyuki talked to me about the revolution, she told me that my attitude could be useful. I'm not afraid to speak my mind, and on Irk, I got what I wanted by simply not shutting up. And thanks to it, I was able to help others get jobs in the inner working of our unspeakable leaders."

Dib nodded, then said,

"Hey, wanna go try on some new clothes? There's a store actually dedicated to midgets here, since their numbers have grown."

"Those aren't midgets, Dib. Those are Irkens. Remember, Earth and this city is the rendezvous point. Hundreds of us are here." Dib thought back to the previous day, when he had seen an orgy of midgets walking by the skool grounds. Were those midgets also Irken? It was pretty likely, due to the fact that it was, in fact, an orgy sized group.

This nearly shocked Dib. Aliens all over, under his nose, and he hadn't even fathomed the slightest bit that they could disguise themselves much better than Zim could. Except that Zim had to disguise himself like shit.

"Wow. That's crazy."

"So, yes. I would like to try on some new clothes," said Zim with a smile. Dib grinned and looked at the closest directory. The store was on the second floor of the mall. They set off.

The store itself was unlike anything either of the two had ever seen before. It was actually a very enormous size, with racks and shelves full of clothing. There were even sections: young mens, young ladies, mens, women, lingerie, dressy, casual, what seemed like the elderly section, shoes, ties, belts, and even an office for uniform ordering. There were people walking around with measuring tape, asking whoever was shopping around if they wished to be measured to find the perfect outfit. Both small and tall people worked there, and everyone was friendly.

One young man, an employee, walked up to Zim and said,

"How ya doin? I got Skoodge's email last night. I'm so psyched for tomorrow! Who is this?"

"This," Zim answered, gesturing to Dib, "is the human child who will be assisting us in our revolution. Dib, may I introduce Tanki, a specialist in chemical weaponry. Tanki, Dib." Tanki bowed his head, and Dib did the same.

"So!" Tanki snapped back to his profession as a tall co-worker walked by with a confused expression on her face. "What are you two looking for?"

"Something other than this hideous uniform. I feel like I'm suffocating in it." Tanki gave Zim a critical look, then said,

"I have just the thing for you. Every other Irken that's come in here has seen it, tried it, loved it. C'mere."

Tanki pulled out a bright orange t-shirt with a blue screen print of Boy George on the front. It had been cut at the neck line, and the sleeves were elongated by smaller cuts in them. It was extremely tiny. Zim looked at it skeptically, then said,

"Uh...I don't know about that.... I like the cutting job on it, though. But the color and the picture of...that...person...just, no."

"How about this?" Tanki found another shirt, just like the other one, but grey, and with a little logo printed over the heart area (human terms). Zim shook his head. Tanki sighed, then found it.

It was blue, nearly the same blue Miyuki's eyes were. It wasn't cut as dramatically as the other two, but still had that 'rebel' look to it. On one of the slashed sleeves was the logo, "The Actor's Place...Something Like That". Zim apparently liked it, because he reached out and took the shirt from Tanki. Next, Tanki pulled out a pair of jeans, toddler-sized. They were a raw umber color (a version of brown), and were slightly baggy in the right spots.

Zim tried them on, and came out looking way different from before. Dib laughed as Zim emerged from the fitting room as dramatically as he could.

"Do I look okay?" he asked, sounding much like a self-conscious girlfriend.

"You look fine," both Dib and Tanki answered. Zim seemed satisfied with the answer. "I'll buy 'em, then."

"Wonderful!" Tanki exclaimed. He rang the clothing up at the register, then whispered to Zim in Irken. Dib saw Tanki add an extra iten to Zim's purchase. They nodded at each other, then saluted quickly before any humans noticed.

After exiting the store and thanking Tanki, Dib and Zim decided it would be best to leave the mall. Surely Miyuki needed them.

End **Chapter Three: A Small Change**

This was for myself, really. I don't wear t-shirts until I've mutilated them in some way. And Zim needed a new look. So does Dib. But that happens later. Heh. Anyway, anyone play video games here? I started Metroid Prime, and I LOVE IT! I keep on getting smoked by the space pirates and such, but it's such an interesting and wacked out game, I can't stop playing! PLAY IT!...no, you don't have to...

I took my younger sister to see the "SpongeBob Squarepants" movie a while back, and I gotta tell ya, you'll never need to drink booze or smoke a joint ever again, because that movie will fry your brain. It's so cute that it's hideous. We liked it. Anyway, please review. I appreciate it! Thank you for the reviews you've left for me so far...I know this one is a little odd in some parts...someone pointed out the weirdness of Dib beating on Gaz, which I agree is really strange, but hey, I gotta shake things up somehow .

-Juana

Note: These three first chapters are subject to change. Do not flip out if they suddenly all disappear, it means I am modifying them. I do it all for you!


	4. We Need to Talk

**Chapter Four: We Need to Talk**

Dib and Zim arrived back at Dib's home around three o'clock that afternoon. Zim hadn't taken out the extra thing Tanki had placed in his bag yet, and Dib was curious to find out what it was. Apparently, Miyuki was curious as well. She hadn't expected Zim to buy something, because he first showed her his new 'threads', as Dib put it.

"But this is the real thing," Zim said. He pulled out two parcels, each labeled in Irken. Zim read them, then threw one to Dib.

"Open it."

Dib was hesitant, but did as he was told. Inside the parcel was a 'Miyuki-blue', spandex-like material in the form of a long shirt. It was almost like Zim's red uniform, only a few inches shorter, stripe-less, with a strange icon on the bottom of it, on the left side. The logo looked like a splice between an elongated letter R and number 2. It was the most beautiful symbol from another planet Dib had ever seen. Crop circles, photographs, drawings and videos suddenly seemed to crumble and blow away in Dib's mind as he gazed upon the sign.

"That symbol," explained Miyuki, "means 'universal love, peace, devotion and selflessness to all' in Irken. Everything we fight for. This is our standard uniform."

""Th-thank you," Dib stammered. Wow. He was going to wear an Irken uniform. This was all too incredible, even for Dib. He bowed gratefully, but mostly to hide his face and the huge smile accompanying it. He was beyond happy, even though he knew he might possibly die in that uniform he now held proudly.

That night, tensions were growing high. Dib could feel it. Both Zim and Miyuki were extremely quiet. Neither of them spoke: Miyuki continued to write her ideas and plans, while Zim made up a small list of Irken manners, phrases, and common words for Dib to practice with.

The meeting was taking place the next night. Dib was also quiet. He didn't know what he could, or should do. No one needed his help. Even GIR was almost lethargic.

Tomorrow night, Dib would meet some hundred thousand Irkens. He would be accepted into their ranks and become one of them. He would go into a battle for a planet he had never known existed until a few years back. He would fight a species he knew a very minuscule bit about. He would be fighting alongside an ally who was once his most devious, wicked and stupidest enemy ever. It felt so unreal, and yet it hadn't even happened yet.

Holy shit.

Dib suddenly felt the urge to talk to his sister. He may never see her again. She wouldn't care, but he did. He stood up slowly from the couch and walked up the stairs, turned to his left, and faced her closed door. He could hear the small, high-pitched mechanical beeping of the Game-Slave II through the door. It sounded like "Massacre at the Movies", a sleeper-hit game that came out three years before.

_Knock. Knock._

The music stopped, as though the sound of a hand against wood could kill.

"Who is it?" came her voice, mixed with fear, nervousness and anticipation.

"It-it's me, Gaz. I want to talk to you. It's important."

"Why? I don't believe you." Dib sighed, and answered,

"Look, I really gotta speak with you."

"And you can hear me just fine from where you stand. Go on." This was the closest Dob would get to her, and even though he wanted to say it to her face, he knew he wouldn't.

"Gaz, I'm really sorry. I really am. I never meant to hurt you. I wish I could take that moment back and replace it with, I dunno, us watching a movie or chilling out at Bloatie's, I really wish I could. I couldn't stop myself from blacking out that night, and wish I could've. This may be the last conversation we ever have. I'm going away for a real long time, and I may never come back."

Silence. Then...

"Where are you going?"

"I can't say."

"Are you going to the hospital?"

"No."

"Then tell me."

"You won't believe me. You'll tell me I'm fucking insane."

"Does it have to do with Zim and Miss Sanchez?"

"Yes."

"Are you going into space?"

"...Yes. To fight. For their people." Dib waited for it, for the laughter, for the insults, for the threats to call the hospital.

Instead, something else happened. Dib nearly passed out when...

**You probably already know what's going to happen next. Anyway, it feels good to be back. I type on my laptop, which is connected to the internet in one location, and disconnected from it in another. I can't upload jack. The next chapter is headed your way, and then a bit of another break to follow.**

**-Juana**


	5. The Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or its respective characters, only those which I created myself (Angra, Chai).**

**Wow. It's been a really long time since I updated this one. I was working on it for a while, thanks to tons of work that needed to get done at school. But now I can write my stories without worrying aboyt getting homework done. I hope you guys love it, and review it! -Juana **

**Chapter 5: The Meeting**

...the door opened. Gaz stood in front of her older brother, the Game-Slave on her bed, and, somehow, turned off.

"Are you really leaving Earth?"

"I-yes. Yeah."

"And are you really sorry for beating me up?"

"Of course I am. No one ever WANTS to hurt their family. At least, I hope no one would ever want to hurt their family."

"So...I may never see you again?"

"Right." Gaz stood in quiet, deep thought for a few seconds then blurted out,

"But then...NO! You can't leave. You can't. If you leave, then I won't have any friends. I won't have anyone to hang out with. No one to talk to. My plan was to force you to take me to my prom 'cause no one else is likely to ask me."

Dib was stunned. Gaz was talking like she had been planning to speak to him again one day. She had tears in her eyes and looked very crestfallen.

"I-I really don't know what to say," he said in reply. "I've got nothing."

Gaz threw her arms around Dib's neck and said,

"Don't you dare die. I'll go into the depths of hell to retrieve you if I have to. DO NOT DIE." Dib hugged back and said,

"You may have to do just that, pal. Remember, I'm gonna be in space."

"Fine. Then I'm going with you."

"Whoa, what? No way. I'm not going to risk your life over something you don't even know about. No. You're not coming. You stay here and live your life. You need to keep an eye on dad, make sure he doesn't kill himself with some experiment. Maybe he'll make you a new brother, or sister."

"What?" Whoops. She was still unaware of her brother's origin.

"Nothing. Promise me you'll stay here?" Gaz sighed, then said,

"Fine. But you better call me every night."

"I'll see what I can do." Gaz stepped away and closed her door quietly to hide her tears. Dib stood there a moment, also fighting the sudden sadness. He forced himself to quit staring at the door and walked away to his own room. Halfway there, he met up with GIR. The little robot did not scream, laugh or speak nonsense. It simply stared up at Dib and whispered,

"Forgiveness is the key to happiness." It then turned around and trotted away.

Dib knew this was the truth. And it made him happy. He had not once thought he'd be able to heal the gash between him and his sister. He opened the door to his room and sat down on his bed. He sighed a breath of relief.

"Hey, Dib. You alright?" Zim was suddenly at the door; Dib hadn't heard him walk up the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I talked with Gaz, and she's better now. I feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders."

"That's wonderful. But I'm afraid it's time to go. We need to leave for the meeting."

"Already? Wow."

"Yes. So grab whatever you need and meet us outside."

"Okay." Zim left the room. Dib grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a letter to his sister and father, then grabbed a small bag and threw all his underwear and deodorant into it.

He ran down the stairs and slammed the door.

Miyuki and Zim were waiting on the front lawn, just standing there. Nothing odd about that. Except maybe if you noticed the Voot Cruiser that was chilling out in front of them. Dib smiled a little, and gave his life-long home one last gaze. He sighed, climbed into the Cruiser and closed is eyes.

Zim sat at the control, Miyuki and GIR sat on either side of Dib. No one spoke on the long journey until they were twenty minutes away from their destination.

"Alright, earth-stink," Zim said, trying to get a smile out of Dib. "Remember everything I taught you. Chances are you won't have to say much, and try to keep calm. Stay close to us, and DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH ANYONE. That means you want to speak with them, and if you get the wrong person, you could get into a huge mess. Look ahead, with your head up, but never make eye contact."

"Okay. I'm ready for this," Dib said confidently.

"Good." Zim picked up a small walkie-talkie and said in Irken,

"Request permission to land. Occupants include her Highness Miyuki. Repeat: request permission to land." A few seconds later, another Irken voice came through:

"Authorization in process...authorization complete. Permission to land granted." Zim maneuvered the Cruiser into what looked like an enormous, deserted beach. Dib looked out the window and gazed at the ocean that stretched forever before them. Slowly, he watched that ocean sink away into sand and then into sudden black.

"Wow..." They were being lowered into an underwater cave, deep and huge. Dib's eyes grew large as he found himself staring at a large, circular, baby blue room filled with several Irkens and lots of machinery. Everyone was working at different stations, speaking into walkie-talkies, typing, writing. They didn't look up at the ship that had just appeared through the ceiling. One Irken, a female, walked over and directed Zim to move to the left and through a sliding glass door. He maneuvered the Cruiser through the door and parked next to another Cruiser.

"Nice," he said. "Alright, people. Out!" He opened the windshield/door and let Dib, Miyuki and GIR out before double-checking to make sure everything was alright.

Dib was stunned. Miyuki smiled and said,

"I know, it's a little strange for you. But you like it, I can tell."

"Y-yeah. This is so cool..." Zim jumped down from the Cruiser and said,

"Let's go. We gotta go to the main hall. Follow me." Zim walked through the doors, past the Irkens who paid them no attention, down a long, wide hallway (that was a bit low-Dib noticed that Miyuki was bending and ducking) and into a smaller, dark room.

Dib could hear voices somewhere.

"Alright. Dib, stay back here until I call you out. Miyuki is going to address our people and talk to them, you know, one of those 'inspirational' speeches. Okay? If anyone comes in here and gives you a hard time, GIR is going to stay here and help you."

"Okay. Good luck out there."

"Thanks, pal. My Queen, are you ready?"

"I've been ready for a very long time." They walked out together onto what Dib saw was a stage. A stadium, really. Three stories high, filled with million upon millions of Irken soldiers.

"My people!" Miyuki shouted in Irken, throwing her arms up high above her head. The room, which had been noisy and restless, suddenly became quiet and still. Everyone's eyes were wide and full of respect and awe. It had been so long since they had seen their Queen alive.

"The time has finally arrived! The revolution is about to begin! We will crush our enemies with the power of justice and truth! There will no longer be oppression and slavery to any system, and leaders shall be elected, rather than chosen on basis of their vertical stature! There will be no more of this 'tallest' nonsense. My people, you will stand as tall as you are and be proud! Everyone has their positions, everyone has trained. Everyone has prepared themselves for the best, but most importantly, for the worst. We are headed into a series of battles. Battles, as we all know, especially in the Irken fashion, are not the glorious epics we had downloaded into our systems after birth. No. There will be death, hurt, pain, dishonor, and lots of suffering. We can take it, but it will not be glorious. You are the best of the best, my children. You will prevail over evil, you will scream in its ugly face and beat it until you have destroyed it."

The room went from silent to thunderous. Cheers and screams rose up. They were screams of anticipation, desire and fear.

"My children, the captain Zim and I have brought a human back with us. A human determined to help us overthrow our evil tyrants. He will work hard, and he is smart. The smartest human there is. Please welcome him."

Zim grabbed Dib's arm and pulled him out onto the stage. Dib stood before a sea of green and Miyuki-blue. All eyes were on him. Some Irkens looked very interested and stunned – many had never seen a human before, despite their long years on Earth. Dib nervously shook his hand in the air absently and said,

"N-nakhta. Dib jas seto machka."

At first, silence. Then the crowd roared and cheered. Never before had another culture taken the time to respect them by learning to say even the tiniest bit in their language. They already loved Dib.

"WAIT JUST A SECOND THERE!" One lone voice screamed above the others. The cheering stopped abruptly as Angra, the nasty little Irken, shoved people aside and made his way to the stage.

"How can we trust him?" he asked in Irken. "How? I know for a fact that he has a history of attempting to capture our captain, Zim. He has tried many diabolical ways to do so. Now he is here. He has recorders, cameras, maybe even technology we are unaware of. How can we trust him?"

"Angra," Zim cut in, "he has nothing. He is not here to harm anyone here. He wants to help. Is it so hard to believe that someone on this planet wants to help us?"

"When he has attempted to capture and dissect you, yes, it is hard to believe he now wants to help us," Angra answered. "This is so obviously the best way for him to do something dangerous. And the Queen! He could destroy her, and then where would we be?"

"Angra," Zim answered as calmly as he could, "I trust him. Miyuki trusts him. He has nothing on him that can put her or us in harm's way. If you really feel this way about him, I suggest you simply stay away from him and do your job. Distrust will only make our revolution weak. Do you want that?" Angra huffed and backed down, shooting Dib a very nasty look. He then returned to his seat for further instruction.

The speech continued. Miyuki discussed weaponry, defense tactics, machinery and repairs, and weaknesses of the Tallest and the Massive. In the end, she dismissed the entire stadium.

Angra," she called. "Could I speak with you for a moment, please?" Angra came forward, still looking very angry and trepid. Dib realized that this Irken was even bigger than he had seemmed on Zim's screen. Angra was, in Irken standards, huge. He was a foot taller than Zim, had large muslces in his arms and legs that indicated that he worked out, and much rougher, leathery skin. His skin was a darkwr shade of green; he must have spent a lot of time outside.

Miyuki, Angra, Zim and Dib sat together in another big room that looked like a conference hall, to the left of the stadium with the door closed.

"Angra," Miyuki started in human English, "We all understand your feelings about Dib, and it's normal. Yes, Dib does have a history of 'alien-hunting', but that is all over. He does not fit in with humans. He understands how it feels to be silenced and repressed, just as we do. Zim has been Dib's target for a very long time, why don't you ask him about this."

"Yeah," Zim replied. "He's not a bad guy. He's going to help us. If he does end up being our enemy, then you may have permission to kill him any way you wish. But for now, we trust him and I hope you can trust him, too." Dib's eyes widened, but he understood why Zim was speaking like this: it seemed to work on Angra that he was given the most permanent solution if there was a problem. Angra crossed his arms, looked up at the high ceiling and thought about the offer, then answered,

"Very well. Any dangerous business from the creature, and I will be sure to destroy him as painfully and slowly as possible."

"Wonderful," Zim replied. "Then we have a deal. And I expect you to respect Dib from this moment on, is that understood, soldier?" Angra saluted and answered,

"Yes sir."

"Good. What are you working on at the moment?"

"Right now, several soldiers and I are working on a hacking system to record all conversations and plans on board the Massive and on Irk itself. We also have plans to hack into the functioning systems of all the SIRs and created total distracting chaos so that we can attempt to manage our way in as discreetly as we can."

"Genius," Zim said. "I love it. Please continue with your work, Agent Angra."

"Thank you, sir," Angra replied with hint of a hiss. He turned swiftly, opened the door, and nearly ran into another soldier. He shoved the soldier aside and marched out of the room. The other soldier knocked on the now-open door.

"Yes, come in," Miyuki called. Invader Chai stepped in the room, standing tall and looking very inspired by Miyuki's speech earlier.

"My Queen," she said, and bowed respectfully. Then she looked at Zim and said,

"I haven't seen you in person for so long. I missed you so much." She ran up to him and gave him a huge bear-hug. Zim gladly returned the hug.

"Wow," he said quietly, "I never thought, after all these years, you would still be the most beautiful woman in the universe. I missed you too much- I nearly went insane without you by my side." Chai giggled and replied,

"Really. Well, now I'm here, so you don't need to go insane." She looked over at Dib. "Is that the human child?"

"Yeah. Dib, meet Chai. Chai, Dib the human." Dib held out his hand and said politely,

"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Chai smiled and said,

"You're respectful. I think I'm going to like working alongside you. Oh, and please correct me if any of my human English is incorrect."

"I'm sure he will, but everything about you is already so perfect, I don't think he'll ever get the chance to," Zim said. Dib thought this was the most bizarre behavior he had seen in Zim, ever. He had known Zim to be such a psychotic little freak–seeing him love-struck was a little stranger than it should have been. Dib coughed and suddenly became very interested in a poster covered in Irken writing. Miyuki sensed his discomfort and walked over to him.

"This," she said, indicating the poster with her hand, "is the peace code we live by. It states laws I had created before I became the 'enemy'. This first one is "All races of the Universe shall be respected by and have respect for the Irken race." This one is my favorite: "All weapons and machines of war are to be destroyed." Funny that I should be going against my own law in this revolution." Miyuki paused and sighed slowly. "I was hoping to truly gain Universal peace, free all slaves and prisoners of war, feed starving planets, teach all to show love, respect and compassion for all races in dire need of support. But it cannot be this way through peaceful measures. Peace must be won through war, killing, desperation. The ultimate contradiction."

"I agree with you all the way, your Highness. It's the same way on Earth-no one can agree on anything. In fact, people just can't seem to understand that everyone has a different opinion, and that's the problem–our wars are over opinions and beliefs, not facts or logical reasoning. Nothing makes sense there."

"I understand," Miyuki nodded. "Earth has its own battles to fight on itself-humans are destroying themselves, just as my people shall destroy itself. Come, let me show you where you will be staying. Zim!" Zim and Chai, who were talking quietly, shut their mouths and stood at strict attention.

"Yes, my Queen?"

"I'll be taking Dib to the sleeping quarters. We'll leave you two to talk. So wonderful to see you again, Chai." Chai blushed and bowed. Zim bowed as well, with a huge smile on his face. Miyuki and Dib left the room. As they walked, Dib started to ask questions.

"Is there something going on between Zim and Chai?"

"Yes. They have been together for a very long time. They met in training. She...how do you humans say...kicked his ass and they ended up becoming friends. It's a very cute story, really."

"...Oh. Wow. Um, by the way- I thought Irkens didn't sleep. I thought you guys were constantly energized."

"We don't actually sleep; you heard correctly. However, we have a special room for leisure time. If a soldier feels the need to shut down for a while, he or she goes to this room and enters a pod that shuts them down and keeps them in a sleep-like mode for twenty minutes. Then, they are fully recovered for whatever reason and return to their post."

"That makes sense, I guess."

"Yes," Miyuki stopped at an open doorway. "Here we are."

It was, just as the stadium was, an enormous room, spacious and very empty. There were scattered tables, chairs and occasional food machines. Crawling against the walls of the room were roughly a thousand and a half small pods, all empty. Dib stared in wonder at this magnificent use of clean, light blue space.

"Over here," Miyuki continued, "is where you may sleep." She pointed to a small bed in the corner next to the door. "I had asked one of my soldiers to set it up for you."

"Thank you," Dib bowed.

"It is late now," Miyuki said. "You should get soem rest. Tomorrow you will work with different posts and learn about our technology and language."

"Cool," Dib answered. Miyuki left the room, leaving Dib alone in this huge room. Soon, however, despite his excitement, he finally fell asleep on the little bed.

* * *

Well, i hope it was everything you expected and more in the long time you had to wait for it. The ending sucks, simply because I was sick of that chapter. REVIEW IT, PLEASE! I like to know what my readers are thinking, or if you think you know what will happen so I can tweak it to create the unexpected. -Juana


	6. Acceptance

Hey everyone! I am so sorry I haven't updated for so long. School is wicked busy and I have tons of work to do. But I have here chapter six of "I've Been Harboring a Secret". For my fans, I hope to hear from you and hope you really enjoy this long-awaited chapter. Not too much happens, but that's okay. Enjoy!

-Juana

Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. I do not own Invader Mara, either. She is a character submitted to me by Moonlight the Hedgehog.

**Chapter Six **

**The character "Mara" is a fan character submitted by Moonlight the Hedgehog. Thanks for your support!**

"Wake up."

Someone was shaking Dib's shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at the owner of the hand shaking him. Zim was standing over him with Chai and another Irken female Dib hadn't yet met.

"Hey," he said as he sat up. He looked at the new female and asked,

"Um...M-machka jas jikito weto?" She smiled and answered in human English,

"My name is Mara. I'm going to be your 'stunt double'." Dib shifted his eyebrows and asked,

"What?"

"Let me explain," Zim cut in. "Chai and I were talking all night, and it hit us both rather quickly that we run the possible risk of the Tallest finding out about you. We decided to recruit Mara, one of our best undercover agents to play the part of you if the need to ever arrives. She is an expert in disguises, and can easily turn herself into a duplicate of you in minutes. If any word gets out that we have a human on board, she can take your place in case of an emergency."

"...That's reassuring...I guess..." Dib said meekly. Zim replied,

"I understand-it's nerve-racking to have to think like this. We always need to be prepared for the very worst. Listen, I want you to come with me for a while. I'm going to teach you how to use one of our computers and have you man it for a while. That way, you'll be integrated with the others, and get a chance to use your language skills to really fit in."

"Sounds good," Dib replied. He jumped out of bed and followed Zim out the door, down an extremely long hallway, and into a gigantic white room, filled with all kinds of fascinating Irken technology.

"Wow..." Dib gasped as his wide eyes danced from one machine to another. "This is incredible..."

"Yes," agreed Zim. "It's more advanced than anything the Tallest could have ordered their slaves to build. Top technicians from our army and other resistance movements had joined together to build all you see here. These computers are highly advanced in tracking, language translation, weapon command, shielding of the ship, and so much more. Today, I want you to work with Angra and his men on the hacking station. Angra!"

Angra, who had been either ignoring them or working really hard, shot up and straightened out his back. He marched over to Zim and Dib and said,

"Yes, sir?" The was a hint of jealousy thrown into his already condescending tone. Zim answered as though he hadn't noticed the bitterness in Angra's voice:

"I want you to work with Dib today. I understand you and your men are trying to break into the recording systems on the Massive and Irk?'

"Yes, at the moment. Is the human skilled in the kinetic technologies?"

"He means using computers," Zim said with a slight smile. Dib nodded-he had understood.

"Agent Angra, sir, if you don't mind my asking," Dib asked timidly, "how far have you penetrated their systems?" At this one question, Angra seemed to relax a little.

"Not very far. They seem to have some unknown, highly difficult blocking system that we can't seem to pierce through. It's annoying the hell out of us all."

"May I try, sir?"

"Ha! Go ahead. Won't make any difference," Angra snorted. Zim flashed him a look.

"I requested to you last night to show respect for Dib. Dib, go ahead. I want you to try this out."

"Alright," Dib answered, taking a deep breath. "Here we go." He walked slowly up to the computer, a large, white flat screen tilted at an angle and attached to the high wall. The keyboard was large and transparent, and in Irken. Another Irken on Angra's team started to tell Dib what to do:

"Hey, human, you have to-"

"Silence," Zim ordered. "Watch." Dib gulped. The room had gone completely silent-everyone was watching him. He stared at the keyboard, trying to figure out the strange symbols. He tried something.

"Um...Transfer human English language to keyboard..." Nothing.

"English? Change language?" He stopped and thought. What would be the correct thing to say? 'Wait,' he thought. He tried again.

"Commence language settings." Instantly, the screen switched and displayed before him were thousands of languages. A smooth, female voice called out,

"Please verbalize specie, language and planet."

"Human English, Earth." The screen changed again, and this time the data was all in English. Dib read the data, which contained information about the Massive, its weak points, where recording stations had been set up by the Revolutionaries, and information on the Tallest. Dib read it all, and after a very long time, exclaimed,

"I got it!" He began to type furiously, careful to avoid mistakes. The Irkens, most of who were unable to read English, watched on in awe at this little stranger and his apparent knowledge of computers, especially their own.

After several minutes of typing, Dib sent everything through the system.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Now they all had to wait. Angra was jittery-there was a slight possibility that instead of recording the Tallest, the Tallest would receive recordings from the Resistance.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The tension and suspense was building, and everyone could feel it weight upon their shoulders.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Success. Massive infiltration successful." The room, once silent, now erupted into cheers and clapping. Irkens yelled grateful praises at Dib in their own language. People clapped him on the back, and some even hugged him. Angra pushed through the mass of cheering Irkens and strode up to Dib. For a moment, his eyes gave off a glimmering look of hate, then he threw out his hand and offered it to Dib.

"I understand that the handshake is the human gesture of respect?"

"Sort of, yeah," Dib answered with a smile. He took Angra's hand and shook it, finally feeling as though he belonged.

Zim clapped and called for silence. The room quieted down as he made his announcement.

"We are now a step ahead of our enemies. It's time to really buckle down and work like we've never worked before. Who's ready to really start this thing?" Everyone in the room screamed and chanted and wiggled their antennae in their excited response. They all instantly returned to their work.

"Dib," said Zim, "I think you have really earned your right to be here. Please continue to help out here. Maybe you can infiltrate the SIRs as well."

"Sure thing, Zim," Dib said with enthusiasm. "I'm on it." He got into his new group, and started to discuss ways they could make the SIR units go haywire.

"Zim." The short Irken turned around and found Chai standing behind him, looking nervous. Zim's smile fell from his face as he rushed up to her and grabbed her clawed hands.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concern in his eyes.

"It's the Tallest. They called me on my antennae set (note to reader: these are auditory, not visual) and ordered me to return to them at once." Zim gasped.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. It definitely has to do with finding you and Miyuki, but I don't understand why they need me there, when my targets are here."

"Purple. He wants you for himself, the damn bastard."

"I hope not. Red wouldn't allow it, but Purple insisted."

"Don't go. I'll take your place."

"No! They'll kill you. Don't be stupid."

"I can't let him hurt you."

"I can take care of myself." Mara stepped into the room and positioned herself next to them.

"Pardon me," she said, "but I've been eavesdropping. Chai, your ship is on the Massive's watch list. They can tell when your ship is approaching or steering away from them. Why don't you set it on auto-pilot, send out for several hundred miles, then manually self-destruct it from here?"

Both Chai and Zim slapped their foreheads.

"We're so stupid," Zim laughed. Chai hugged Mara and said,

"You friggin' genius. I love it when you have the answer to our problems." She ran off to prepare her ship. Mara and Zim stayed behind.

"So," said Mara after a brief silence, "I'm going to stay her and observe Dib. I need to know all I can if I want to play the part correctly. You go and assist Chai. And Zim, don't worry about her. She's the strongest and most intelligent woman in this operation besides our Queen. I have the deepest respect for Chai."

"Thank you for your kind words," Zim replied. He ran off to find Chai. Mara walked over to Dib and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and said,

"Oh, hey Mara."

"Hi, Dib. I'm here to observe you, okay? I need to watch for habits, or little quirky things in order to be convincing. Don't mind me, okay?"

"Sure. Go ahead." They smiled shyly, then Dib returned to his work. Mara stepped back a little and listened carefully to the various pitches n his voice, his postures, hand movements and so on.

This revolution was finally beginning.

* * *

So again, nothing special. The big stuff is on its way! 


	7. Fool the Jerks

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'Invader Zim' or any of its respective characters. They are the sole property of Jhonen Vasquez. The characters Mara and Machi are the property of Moonlight the Hedgehog and are used with permission.**

I'm back, bitches! Took me long enough right? I'm really sorry. Life is busy. Anyway, new chapter up, and it's quite exciting. Just no battles yet (which is why I started this fic in the first place!), but it will happen. Please read, enjoy, review and request more!

-Juana

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"We need to set the coordinates for my Cruiser towards the Massive. Then we need it to self-destruct halfway there."

Zim and Chai had found Skoodge in one of the many ship repair bays, working on a dying Cruiser. He nodded and answered,

"I understand. I'm guessing you need to fool the Tallest, right?"

"Yeah. They want . . . well, only Purple wants her to come back. He's such a sick f-"

"I know. They wanted me to come back so they could kill me and use me as an example for the new smeets. Scare them into submission. Jerks. Let's see...I know I have the Massive's coordinates somewhere around here..."

He walked over to a computer, a bit smaller than the ones back with Angra and Dib. Skoodge typed in a password, key words and found what he wanted.

"A'right," he said. "Right now, the Massive is to the northeastern direction, one hundred forty-two degrees to the right. And they are about 2,687,000,000 miles from us. I can't believe they're so close! I mean, next to Neptune, for crying out loud. Hrmm... So, Chai, we should have your ship self-destruct about 2,059 miles from them, so that they get the signal. We still have quite some time before they can find us and our direct coordinates, but hopefully this will slow them down a bit."

"Great," said Zim, breathing a sigh of relief. "We should send it out now then."

"Absolutely," Skoodge agreed. Chai called for her Cruiser to teleport over. The vehicle came up moments later, resting on an elevation disc. She checked her downloaded information and deleted it. Then she recorded what would be believed as her death on the Massive, screaming, crying and cursing Zim and Miyuki. It was perfect. Skoodge then set in the coordinates and set the Cruiser on another elevation disc. The elevation disc led high up to other discs that automatically sent the Crusier higher and higher until it reached the top of the underground laboratories. From there, it was released and took its course of action based on the coordinates it had received.

The Cruiser was gone. All three Irkens sighed and thought about their own mortality. They all knew they could die in such a way, and soon.

"We need to stay strong," Skoodge said suddenly, filled with confidence. He puffed out his chest.

"As long as we all have one another and Mother, we will prevail."

"And even if we don't," added Zim, "at least we will have set some examples for the future Invaders of our home." He gave Skoodge a weak smile, who answered with a loud laugh and said,

"As long as I provide some kind of example, right?" He was referring to the Tallest's desire to have him killed. Chai suddenly became very uncomfortable.

"Guys, I'm going to go speak with Miyuki. I'm feeling anxious suddenly." Zim nodded and said,

"Of course. Go ahead. I'm going to go check on Dib soon, anyway." Chai nodded and went off to find Miyuki. Skoodge gave Zim a look and said,

"Is she going to be okay? She looks extremely nervous, and she's never like that." Zim agreed.

"I know. She's never shown any kind of weakness before-I imagine she's just feeling some pent-up anxieties finally breaking through her wall of endurance. I'm going to talk to her tonight, after she talks with Miyuki. I'm going to go see how Dib and Mara are doing." They both nodded, Skoodge went back to work and Zim left the room, thinking about Chai.

* * *

"Did you know you talk to yourself?"

Dib looked up from the computer he was trying to figure out and said,

"Huh?" Mara shrugged and repeated herself:

"You talk to yourself. A minute ago, you were explaining to yourself that the Massive seems to have only one weak point, which is the snack vault, which we call "Snack Central". Is this something you do often?" Dib's face went red.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Mara replied. "I need this information to perfect your character. I've been observing the way you sit, soon I'll be observing the way you stand and walk, and I still have to watch you in a conversation, and sleep habits. I have to observe all your different emotions, and how you react according to specific situations. It's a lot to watch."

"And this is what you do here? Have you perfected other Irkens' personalities?"

"Of course. I've perfected Zim, Angra, Skoodge, Blod, Gurg, Haji..." She continued for some time before a jaw-dropping Dib interrupted her.

"Wow. That's amazing. Do you have a S.I.R. unit that is capable of the same ability?" Mara answered,

"I do. I programmed it to be like me. It's name is Machi, and it can take on the personality of any animal, wild or pet, that belongs to a human. It currently likes the animal known as the fox, so it usually walks around disguised as one. It's a sweet little thing."

"Cool. Any chance of me being able to get one of those things?" Dib said jokingly. Mara laughed and said,

"I don't know. They are handy little helpers, I'll give them that." Dib nodded in agreement and returned to his work. He was still working on how to infiltrate the SIR units that were aboard the Massive when it hit him:

"Mara!" he turned back to face her dramatically, "does this place have any malfunctioning SIR units?"

"Yep," she answered. "Why?" She eyed him carefully. Dib's eyes were shining with hope, and it looked quite bizarre.

"I need them here. You'll see. Where are they?"

"I'll bring you to them. Follow me." She jumped up and led Dib down long well-lit, white hallways, past doors and rooms and more Irkens. She stopped at a door on the left side of the Underground and knocked.

The other side of the door exploded into cheers, laughter, screaming and a few apparent explosions. Dib backed away from the door and said,

"Um, is this safe? Should we be going in there?"

"It's alright," Mara answered.

"Hey!" She called. "Hey in there! Can someone come out and help my friend and me?"

"ME! MEMEMEMEME!" one voice screeched far louder than any of the others. Mara opened the door and was greeted by a SIR unit that was in bad shape. It had one eye, a bent antennae, a burned torso and one arm. Mara picked it up and said,

"Perfect." She slammed the door shut before any other SIRs could escape and led Dib back to their computer room. Once back, Angra walked up to them and said,

"Where did you go? We need Dib here! And why do you have a damaged SIR?" Dib answered confidently,

"Watch." He took the SIR from Mara and said,

"Hey buddy. I need your help-it's very important."

"OKAY!" the SIR yelled. "WHAT I GOTTA DO?" Dib smiled. This thing was very alike to Zim's GIR unit, although no one really knew what the G stood for yet.

"See this wire?" Dib held up a grey wire attached to the circuit board and dangled it in the SIR's face. "I need to hook you up to it. Then, I'll give you an order to do something fun, okay?"

"OKEY-DOKEY!" the little robot yelled. Dib was amazed by the volume in these little robots. He lifted the SIR's top and fused the wire with it. Then, he returned to the computer and typed in coordinates, commands, and viruses. Then, to the SIR, he said,

"Okay, SIR, I want you to...um...rip your leg off." The robot did it.

"Now, hit yourself in the head. Whirl your head around. Act like a clown monkey!" The robot did everything it was told, and loved every second of it. It laughed and yelled and screamed and bounced around until:

BOOM!

The SIR blew up; its remains flew and scattered all over the computer room. The other Irkens in the room looked up from their work and stared at Dib. The sudden silence waited patiently and heavy over Dib's head-it was taking so long... Then:

"SIR unit mass infiltration complete. All operating SIRs aboard subject Massive have been infected with viruses 4926, 3343, 1010,..." Te computer droned on, giving the number of every virus Dib had sent to the Massive's supply of SIR units. The entire computer room listened for twenty-five minutes, intently, wide-eyed, and on the edge of their seats.

"...and 7822. Virus downloads complete." The room went up in a roaring cheer. Angra clapped Dib on the back and said,

"Incredible. I never realized humans could be so smart. We tried doing that, but it never worked. I don't understand why..." Dib answered right away,

"In one's mind, when told that something is extremely difficult to do, or it becomes hard to do the first time around, it literally becomes impossible beacuse our minds percieve it to be impossible. If you had told me I would never do it, then it wouldn't have happened (note from author: this is freakin' true!). Strange how the mind works, huh?"

Angra smiled and said,

"Good job, kid. We should have stuck you on board here sooner. You are fucking insane."

"Excuse me?"

Angra turned his head to see Zim standing in the entrance. He looked none too pleased.

"Agent Angra, I told you to respect Dib, not abuse him. You-"

"It's okay, Zim. He wasn't calling me insane in the literal sense. He meant it as a compliment. I just infiltrated the Massive's supply of functioning SIR units. I gave each one a virus." Zim relaxed and said to Mara, who was standing next to Dib,

"Is this true?" Mara answered,

"You betcha, buddy!" Zim smiled.

"Good. That makes me happy. Well, Chai, Skoodge and I have sent our Chai's Cruiser. The Massive should receive the distress signal in about three weeks. The Cruiser is set to..."

"Ludicrous speed?" Everyone looked over at Dib, who had a gigantic grin on his face. The Irkens all looked extremely confused.

"What do you mean, 'ludicrous speed'?" Dib laughed and said,

"It's from a great movie called 'Space Balls'. It's a spoof on 'Star Wars', which is a series about space travel and adventure, and romance, etcetera..."

"Oh. Neat. So yeah, I guess you could say it's set to a ludicrous speed," said Zim. "We want it to get there before they get any closer to us then they already are. Dib, are you tired at all?"

"Nope. I love doing this."

"Good. But go to bed soon, so you can continue to deliver these miracles to us." Zim saluted him, then Angra, Mara and the rest of the computer technicians before marching away to check on another station. Angra put his arm around Dib and said,

"Kid, you really are a freakin' miracle in a human body. Too bad we can't change the human part, but..."

* * *

End of Chap. Seven: ...First off, I'd like to apologize to my readers for making you wait so incredibly long for this chapter. I had been busy with school, observations, papers, cleaning and moving out of my apartment, then surgery etc...So I knew I had to return with this. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do. Again, this story is still in production. I hate abandoning fics, and this is one I will complete. Might take a wicked long time, but it will be finished one day! Hope everyone is doing well, and I hope to see some constuctive feedback on how to improve!

-Juana


	8. Let's Get Serious

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. I do not own Mara or Machi, they are the property of Moonlight the Hedgehog. I do own Angra and Chai.**

Well, readers, last time was just an updated chapter, so here's a brand-spankin' new one! And more is on the way! I'm really into Zim again, now that I have free time, so read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!

-Juana

**Chapter Eight: Let's Get Serious**

"Incoming signal from registered Irken vehicle." The announcement echoed through the cavernous room, but startling no one. The little Irken who had made the announcement waited for his leaders to make a comment, of which they didn't for several minutes. Finally, one of them did.

"Well? Who is it? Is it Chai?" Red sounded impatient. He wanted information, statistics, anything that would help calm his nerves. Believe it or not, he was anxious. He tried hard to repress it, but deep inside, he knew his people could sense his anxiety and fear. The discovery that Miyuki was still alive and in cahoots with Zim made him feel sick. Purple, on the other hand . . .

"It had better be Chai. I've been dying to see that cute little bit-"

"Yes, sir. It is the ship of Irken Invader Chai. However, a PAK-sensitive scan shows that she is not within the ship. It seems to have been set on the course towards us, empty of life."

"Oh, really?" Red seemed rather pleased at this news. "So she's also in this stupid revolution thing with Zim and Miyuki. I'll give her credit for trying, but no one can trick the Almighty Tallest." Purple responded,

"That little bitch is going down, along with all her short friends." He grinned evilly at the idea of a mass homicide, then yelled to the crew,

"Change course! We're going to the planet Earth."

One small Irken pilot sighed and said into his loudspeaker,

"Sir, is this really necessary? Do we really need to destroy a bunch of useless rejects?" He knew right away he'd said the wrong thing. Purple floated over to him and hovered inches away from his shoulder.

"Say that again, scum. Tell me that you have no problem with your people betraying you and your loved ones. Tell me you want to go join that pathetic revolution. Tell me, because I want to kill something right now." The little pilot hunched over and cried,

"I-I'm sorry. I meant no d-disrespect. No, I do not wish to betray you or my loved ones by j-joining some idiotic revolution. I want to serve my people the best I can."

"I thought so. CHANGE COURSE FOR EARTH!" Purple was crazy. Red could see the anger and hate in his eyes, but he knew better. He kept his mouth shut and agreed with him. The Massive's weight shifted as it changed its course, knocking a few Irken soldiers off their feet. Purple returned to his place next to Red and said nothing. The silence hung over them for an hour before Red spoke his mind:

"Just what do you think we're going to do when we arrive on Earth? What's the game plan?" Purple smiled maliciously and answered,

"Simple. We invade their weak little base, or bases, capture everyone, execute a few mavericks and keep Zim, Chai and Miyuki prisoner until we see fit. Maybe we'll have a public execution for them, to show their followers who's boss."

"Of course. Now, let's do some brain-storming, shall we? What are the chances that other rebel groups have joined them?" The question led to silence. Purple hadn't thought of that. He remembered that lame group from a while ago . . . what were they called? The Resisty. That's right. And then there were the escaped Vortians, the genius Meekrobians, the Spibbleys, the Plookesians- there were so many groups that hated the Irken empire to no end. Surely they had joined the maverick Irkens.

"You're right," he answered. "We'll need major back-up. YOU!" He yelled down to an Irken slave, "call the Ministry of Defense, the Smeet Facility, and the Soldier Training Stations. Tell them we need all the back-up we can get. Train smeets quickly and send them in. I want projects finished by tomorrow morning. I want four thousand soldiers here by tomorrow morning."

The little Irken slave slowly and reluctantly picked up a phone-like reciever and dialed a long number. After a few minutes of silence, he began to repeat all the orders to the Irken on the other line. Purple watched intently, and when the little slave hung up the phone, he hissed,

"You are a traitor, little one. I can see it." The little slave jumped a foot in the air and cried,

"No! I'm loyal. I'm good. I swear it! Please!" But Purple was not so forgiving. He stood back up and floated down to the little slave Irken, who remained frozen where he stood, terrified. Purple picked him up, bore his angry violet eyes into those of the little slave, then...

CRACK.

Purple broke the slave's little neck. The rest of the crew stared in fear, also frozen. One fainted as soon as he'd heard the shattering crack. Purple dropped the now-dead slave to the floor and hissed in a low, deep voice,

"Anyone else have a problem?" The crew answered 'no' in monotone unison, then returned to work, keeping silent and dreading what was next. Purple stood where he'd killed the little slave, observing and judging each and every little Irken in the control room. He wanted to kill a few more, but he was smart enough to know that any more unjustified killing would make him a candidate for insanity. So, finally, he returned to his seat and remained silent for the rest of the day.

Red knew right away he and his people needed to be cautious. Red was all for finding the traitors and making them pay for their betrayal, but he wasn't into murdering the innocent, such as the little Irken slave. He had never seen the dark side of his co-ruler before, and it frightened him. Purple had always been the dumb one with a one-track mind, that track being snacks, while Red had always been more serious and leader-like. Why things had suddenly changed worried him.

He closed his eyes and began to plan out what to prepare for. He didn't see Purple staring down at him with an evil glare.

* * *

"May I speak with you?" Chai entered Miyuki's room, which was similar to the computer room, except it contained a personal hibernation pod and lots of written notes tacked on the walls.

"Of course, my dear. What's wrong?"

Chai sat down on the floor and looked down at her feet.

"I'm worried. And really nervous. I mean, I'm really excited that the Revolution is finally beginning, but at the same time, I just wish this could be solved peacefully. You understand, right?" Miyuki nodded in agreement.

"Of course I do. I wish the same as you. But we both know that our oppressors will not go down gracefully. They will fight us to no end. They're going to risk their people's lives for nothing but oppression and war. That's is what they stand for, and it is what they live for. This war cannot be deterred." She sighed and looked at her newest notes. They were memoirs. She wanted to leave something for her people should she fall in battle. She wanted so badly to solve this peacefully, but, as she had already told Chai, she knew well that this was the impossible.

"Chai," Miyuki whispered quietly, "If I should fall in battle, I want you to leave the battlefield straight away." Chai looked up from her feet and exclaimed,

"What? I don't underst-"

"I need someone who understands my vision for intergalactic peace to remain alive. You have proven yourself through the years to be the most well-suited candidate. If I should fall, you are my successor as leader of the Revolution. Our people need you alive."

Chai was speechless. She sat there, on the floor, mouth gaping open in complete shock. She wasn't sure she had heard correctly, but the look in Miyuki's eyes told Chai that her antennae did not deceive her. She was Miyuki's successor.

"I-I...your majesty, I...I..." Miyuki gave her a small smile.

"I know, dear. And I'm sorry. I didn't want to burden you with this yet, but I had to. Can you accept this?"

"I...I...um...in...in time, you majesty." Chai whispered.

"Good. But you must promise me you will tell no one. Not even Zim." Chai nodded. Miyuki looked back at her and said,

"Thank you. Is there anything else you needed to talk about?" Chai shook her head and stood up. She saluted her queen, then left the room quickly. Miyuki watched her go, then sighed. She knew it was too early to tell Chai this news, but she also didn't know what the future held. She could be shot down in the next four minutes, for all she knew.

'But have I done the right thing by choosing her as my successor?'

* * *

End of Chapter Eight! Yes! A new chapter! This one came to me very, very spontaneously-there was no planning involved. I just wanted to shake stuff up. Please review and I promise some exciting content (adventure?) is on its merry way.

-Juana


	9. Problems Arising

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. Mara and Machi are the property of Moonlight the Hedgehog. I own Angra and Chai.**

Hi-diddly-ho, fan-er-inos! I'm glad people liked the last chapter. This one might make some people sad, so this is a small warning. But I know you're gonna read it anyway, so enjoy.

-Juana

**Chapter Nine: Problems Arising**

"Human," growled the voice behind him, "you need sleep. I can sense it." Dib looked away from the computer screen and looked up at Angra, who was standing over him and staring at his head (Angra too thought Dib had a large head). Dib wanted to protest, but he knew Angra was right-it was time for some sleep. He nodded his head and said,

"Do I just leave the computer like this, or should I shut it down?"

"Leave it, we rarely shut anything down unless there's some kind of security breach. Go get some sleep. Tomorrow I think you should work with Skoodge in weaponry. He's a genius in that field." Dib nodded and walked out of the main computer room and back to the recharging chamber. He fell flat on his face as soon as he reached his bed, and passed out. It was going to be the last peaceful sleep he would know for a very long time.

After Dib had left, Angra scanned the computer room. Several Irkens worked at each station, making a total of over a hundred of them in the room. Nothing seemed suspicious, so he went off to do his rounds. Angra was an Agent. His job was to seek traitors and enemies, and every eight hours, he did rounds. No one knew about his job except for him, Zim and Miyuki. He had never found anyone or anything suspicious, but tonight was different.

He marched quietly past a room that was rarely ever used, simply because it was too far away from everyone and the other more imperative rooms. But as he marched past, he heard a little voice inside whispering to someone else. He stopped and listened carefully behind the door, then recognized two voices he didn't want to hear on Earth.

"...aying that not only have our people betrayed us, but Zim has invited a human creature to work alongside them?"

"Yes, my Tallest. He's a big-headed freak, but he's a genius. He was able to do all kinds of things today on the computers."

"Is he responsible for making all of our functional SIR units go haywire?"

"Yes, sir. They also infiltrated the Massive-they're able to see and hear everything you do."

"Everything?" Angra listened carefully-this voice sounded like it belonged to Purple.

"Yes, sir, even the, um...incident with the slave..." Angra's eyes grew large at this sudden news. What incident? Was someone hurt or even killed pointlessly? Angra remained hidden behind the door, listening. He learned that the Tallest had already discovered that Chai's ship was empty and that they were on course to Earth, and that the Tallest had been planning the public execution of Miyuki and Zim. And this little traitor-who was this person? Angra found himself unable to determine gender. The voice could have belonged to either a male or female. Angra would just have to wait to see.

"Thank you, soldier, for all your information." It sounded like Red, the ever-serious leader. "Keep a low profile, and if there are any new developments, report to us immediately."

"Yes, my Tallest." The transmission was cut off. The little traitor turned around and started to march out when it sensed another being behind the door. It pulled a gun out of its PAK and began to walk out again, devoid of any tension, nothing Angra would sense. The Agent would never have a chance.

"Traitor!" Angra cried as he jumped out to grab the person, but never even saw his attacker. The traitor fired its gun at Angra and hit him square in the chest. Angra fell over with a shriek and saw only his attacker's feet running off. Angra cried desperately for help, but by the time anyone answered him, he was nearly dead.

"What's going on here!" Zim pushed through a small ocean of people, having heard screams and cries of sadness and anger. He ran over to the fallen Agent and kneeled down next to him. Angra could barely speak, but he was able to get one thing out before he died.

"T-traitor...here...guard...the... human...Tallest...Earth..."

Angra's life ended. The Irkens surrounding his body fell deathly silent and wiggled their antennae in respect. Zim, however, wore a stone-cold look of anger and hate. He growled, then hissed at his comrades,

"Find the traitor. Whoever they are will be tried and imprisoned for the death of one of our finest soldiers. I want four guards with Dib everywhere he goes. Eight for Miyuki. Everyone here is subject to lie-detection scans. Move, people!" The sea of Irkens parted and scrambled away in search for the traitor. Zim and three others who stayed behind lifted their fallen comrade and took his body to the Irken morgue. The walk was quiet and slow.

No one wanted to believe that there was a traitor in their midst, especially Zim. Everything had been going so well, and now this? He thought about Angra's last words-'Tallest' and 'Earth'. Zim wasn't stupid. He was going to take every precaution possible. The first would be to scan every soldier for murder, then evacuate the underground base.

The morgue was well-lit and quite empty. Irkens lived very long lives, so a death was rare. Only one Irken worked the morgue, and she was busy studying a very old corpse of a fallen Invader. When she heard a knock at her door, she answered suspiciously.

"Who is it?"

"Dikar, it's Zim. We have a problem." Dikar the mortician opened her door and, upon the sight of Angra, let out a scream. She continued to scream as Zim and the other three carried Angra's body into the room and lay it down on a table. One of the Irkens walkd back to Dikar and started to whisper to her, and as she listened, she calmed down.

"Thank you, Tibo. I'm sorry, everyone, I just didn't expect to see, well, anyone, but never Angra down here. What happened?" Zim explained what he and the others had found, but that no one had seen the traitor. It was like they had disappeared as soon as people came running. Dikar scratched her head and said,

"That's bizzare. But...Angra's dead. He's dead. I don't believe it. I thought he was the one Irken here incapable of being brought down by any weapon, but I guess I was wrong." Zim nodded.

"We all thought that. The only thing we can do now is go through his memory chip and see if we can find any clues." Dikar nodded in agreement and put on a sterile pair of examination gloves. She picked up a scalpel and began to search through Angra's PAK for his memory chip. When she found it, she gave it to Tibo and said,

"This is your field. Good luck on avenging our fallen comrade." She saluted Tibo and he did the same.

"Zim, let's go to my computer. We'll see what we can find." Zim nodded and thanked Dikar, then told the other two remaining Irkens to stay with Dikar and help her with Angra's body. Zim followed Tibo, who was a little taller than Zim, to his computer room. Tibo was in charge of PAK control and functions. Whenever an Irken experienced a problem with her or his PAK, they went to Tibo, who usually found the problem right away.

Tibo slid the memory chip into a small modem and typed in a few passwords. A large image came up of Angra's bio-signature, and categories from which to choose. Tibo searched through Angra's memories to his very last hour of life. Zim and Tibo watched Anga tell Dib to go to bed, then watched his journey down the empty hall until he stopped at the unused room. They listened to the same conversation the traitor had with the Tallest, but could not place who the traitor was. Then they saw the gunfire, and the death of Angra was their last memory of him.

"Tibo, can you match the traitor's voice frequency to anyone here?"

"Working...no. Nothing." Tibo sighed. "I'm sorry, sir. There's no way of telling. This person is a mystery. I'd get on those lie-detection scans if I were you." Zim nodded sadly.

"Thnak you for your help, soldier." Zim left the room, knowing he needed to talk to Miyuki about the loss and get lie-detection scans underway. This wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

No, it won't be easy. And it wasn't easy for me. Angra was going to have a much larger role, but I needed to make the story move in a new direction. I hope no one's angry...we will all miss Angra.

BUT! Who is the traitor? Do we know? Do I even know yet? Yes. Yes I do. But I'm not telling! If you think you know, don't post it in a review-I want to surprise everyone! That reminds me...where did GIR go?

Next chapter on the way! Read and review my Irken children!

-Juana


	10. Traitor Among Heroes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective charcters. Mara and Machi are property of Moonlight the Hedgehog. All others are property of Juana la Cliker-Rooster.**

Sheesh...that last chapter was depressing, eh? Anyway, like I had said before, I think it needed to happen, otherwise the story never would have moved along. I'm happy I got so many new chapters up-it was going slowly for a while. These new chapters are to make up for the lost time fans wanted.

Please do me a favor, everyone, and recommend this story to others. I would appreciate it. And as always, I love nice reviews.

Thanks,

Juana

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Traitor Among Heroes**

Zim marched down the long, well-lit hall towards his Queen's chambers. He didn't practice what he would say to her; he wouldn't need to. There was no time to prepare. As he marched along, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, several officers making preparations for lie-detection scans. He nodded at one officer, who nodded back, then continued on his way.

He reached his destination and knocked on the door without even thinking about it. Miyuki answered immediately.

"Yes?" Zim cleared his throat and said,

"My Queen, I'm afraid I have some terrible news. Our loyal and strong Agent, Angra, has been shot down and killed. He's been murdered by a traitor, in our own base." Miyuki gasped at this sudden, unexpected news. She sat down the floor and stared past Zim's feet.

"Are you sure? He isn't just injured, or unconscious? You know for a fact he's dead?" Zim nodded and answered,

"I'm sorry. When we got to him, he was nearly dead. Tibo and I checked his memory chip-he had heard the traitor speaking with the Tallest about how they plan on retaliating. They want to capture both you and me and hold a public execution."

Silence. Zim remained unnaturally still, watching his Queen on the floor, who in turn was stricken with shock. She had not expected a death so early into the final organization of the Revolution. She took a few deep breaths, then stood back up. She stood very tall, as Zim noted, and returned to her innate leader skills.

"I want this traitor found. Search everyone. Even the least likely, I want them all searched. That's an order." Zim bowed and said,

"Yes, ma'am." And off he went to carry out the task. As he ran back to the main hall, where officers were preparing for the scans, Zim passed the resting room. He went to check on Dib, hoping nothing had happened to him. But when he stepped in the room and looked over at the human bed, Dib wasn't there. Before he could even think about where Dib could be, Zim saw signs of a struggle. A few machines had been knocked over and smashed, there was blood on the wall and floor, and a shred of a Miyuki-blue uniform. Zim was suddenly less worried and more terrified. He ran out as fast as he could to the main hall.

SLAM.

Zim ran right into Mara. She fell over with a cry and landed on her face.

"Crap, Mara, are you okay?" Zim got up and offered her his hand. She accepted and allowed him to help her back up. Zim gave her a good look and noticed she had a bruised eye, as well as several cuts and a bruised neck.

"What happened to you?"

"Someone attacked Dib while was walking by the resting room. I tried to help, but the traitor hit me. One traitor is a female. Her partner held me down and nearly strangled me half to death. It's a miracle I survived. But they took Dib, and I don't know where."

"Wait," Zim grabbed her shoulders, "there's TWO of them? Two traitors in the base? Who are they? One was a female? How about the other?"

"I saw neither. They wore the standard uniform, but their faces were masked. One had a red mask, the other purple. That means one female and one male." Zim ground his teeth. He was beyond angry-he was beyond furious. There were no words to describe his feelings at this moment. He grabbed Mara's arm and pulled her to the main hall, saying nothing. Once they arrived at the main hall, Zim yelled to the officers,

"Let's get these scans going! Hand me a microphone," he added to a nearby officer, who gave him one instantly. Zim turned it on and announced sharply,

"Attention, Irken soldiers. Please come to the main hall for inspections. I repeat, please come to the main hall for inspections. This is your captain Zim speaking. That is all." He returned the microphone to the officer and yelled to the officers,

"No one is exempt. Everyone, including all officers, myself and Miyuki are subject to these scans. No one is exempt."

Very soon, the main hall filled up with people, many of whom had not heard of the untimely demise of Angra. Some were scared, while the few that knew were angry. They wanted justice for the unnecessary death of their friend and comrade. Zim and Miyuki went through the scans first to ease nerves. The computers scanned their memory chips, blood pressure and brain waves as they were asked a few questions by a small computer. They were hooked up by their PAKs, needles and brain-wave readers. They came out negative for murderous and traitorous acts.

There were well over a million Irkens in the base altogether, but there were five hundred lie-detecting computers and officers standing by. The tests were done in only a day and a half. And none returned a bad report. Every Irken, officers, machinery dept., computer dept., combat dept., everyone took the test and no one came back with a positive reading. It seemed there was no traitor in the base. But there had to be, now that Zim knew there were two of them among him and his people. What was he going to do?

"My Queen, all the tests came back negative. How is that possible?" He asked Miyuki, who was watching her people take the tests from above.

"I don't know, Zim. I just don't know. We're all in danger. How could this have happened?" Zim didn't know how to answer his distraught Queen. So he said nothing. He watched Miyuki pace back and forth-it was clear to him that she had not prepared herself for such an event. Angra was gone, and Dib had been kidnapped. How much worse was this going to get?

"My Queen," Zim started, "I will find him. And I will avenge Angra's death, I promise you that." Miyuki nodded and answered,

"I know you will. I know."

* * *

Meanwhile: 

"So...now whatta we do? Huh? Huh?"

A female Irken sat a small table in a dark little room, rubbing her temples. Her eyes were scrunched up in mental pain. She bore her teeth and growled at her partner, who had not shut up since they'd arrived back from their scans. Her partner jumped up and down and talked on and on about . . . something stupid. She wasn't paying attention to him. In the corner of the dark little room, someone stirred.

Dib slowly opened his eyes for the first time in a day and scanned his surroundings. He knew he'd been kidnapped, but he still didn't know who his assailants were. He tried to get up, but discovered right away he was chained to the wall by iron cuffs.

'Crap...what is all this?' He waited for his eyes to become adjusted to the darkness, then looked over to the table and glared at his kidnappers. He couldn't see the female rubbing her temples, only her silhouettem so his eyes moved over to the talkative and 'hyper' one. He seemed so familiar...who could it be? The male wasn't looking directly at Dib, but Dib knew he had heard that awful, squeaky voice before...

The Irken stopped his jabbering and sensed he was being stared at. He turned around dramatically to face Dib and said with a harsh sneer,

"Recognize me, loser?"

Dib went white with shock as he slowly began to realize who his kidnapper was. There was no way this was happening. It was unreal, unbelievable and unfathomable. The name wasn't there yet, but the face was clear as day.

* * *

Who is it! I won't say who yet, but if you do, don't give it away! Chapter Eleven is on its way.

-Juana


	11. Shock Treatment

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or its respective characters. Mara and Machi are property of Moonlight the Hedgehog.**

OOH...now it's getting exciting! Who is the mysterious stranger? Who is the traitor? I'm sure you've all figured it out already-I'm not very good at suspenseful mysteries...Anyway, chapters twelve and thirteen are already written. They just need some fine-tuning.

-Juana

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Shock Treatment**

"No...this doesn't make any sense-how in God's name did you get here? What is this? What do you want from me? Why am I here? Who's your partner?" Dib's questions flew at the familiar stranger, but he did not get a straight answer yet.

"I hate you," the stranger hissed, "I hate you for all the attention you got. You were always being followed, always being talked to, always getting the attention I wanted. I want you dead."

"Look, I hardly even know you. What attention did I steal from you? No one likes me, except the Irkens here."

"EXACTLY! You stole what I wanted the most. The one Irken I wanted, and you stole him from me."

"You're insane!" Dib yelled angrily. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I know I never stole anyone from you, or anything for that matter! Let me go!"

The stranger suddenly laughed out loudly, a high, brain-damaging sound-wave of horribly epic proportions. It was so loud and so obnoxious that the silent female at the table finally jumped up and slammed her fist into her partner's cheek.

"Shut UP, you stupid moron!" Dib watched in horror as she beat down her partner-in-crime until he was silent and whimpering on the floor. She then turned her attention to Dib and hissed in a deep, dark voice,

"I'll rip your throat out if you continue to scream like the little beast you are, is that understood?" Dib nodded, then suddenly realized he knew who had kidnaped him.

"...Tak...why?"

She grunted and answered,

"Why not? I hate that little worm, Zim. He deserves to die."

"For what? Trying to unify his race for peace and a hopeful future?" Tak whirled around and smashed her fist into Dib's chest. He cried out, but continued to oppose her.

"Zim is harmless, Tak. He isn't the bad guy you think he is. He wants all Irkens and all the races of the universe to live in peace!"

"I know that, human filth. But I don't want to become a pacifist-I want universal domination! Control! Power! Goals this group of traitorous idiots refuse to obtain for themselves and their people. But I'll make them see the error of their ways."

"Oh yeah? How?" asked Dib, his face turning red with anger, "They want peace. You can't force them to do your bidding when they have a pretty good idea of what they want." Upon hearing this, Tak let out a laugh even worse than her partner's-it was shrill, high and piercing. It was the coldest, most heartless sound Dib had ever heard in his life.

"HAHA! Simple, human. Extermination, one by one. As they begin to drop like flies, they'll have no choice but to surrender to me and the Irken Armada. Why, tonight I've already destroyed the grand agent, Angra. Shot to death. If I can take him down, the giant brute he was, I'll have no problem with killing the smaller, weaker ones." She had a huge, maniacal grin plastered on her face. Dib's eyes widened.

"You...you killed...Angra? But...he was so...ergh...you BITCH!" Dib tried to break free of his chains, but it was useless. It didn't stop him from cursing and insulting Tak. She continued to grin as she watched Dib's miserable attempt at freedom. She leaned over and grabbed a chunk of his hair.

"No one can hear you. I designed this room myself-the walls are six feet thick, the only doorway out is impossible for anyone to find, and there are no pipes running through. No cameras, no weapons, no escape. You're stuck here, human." She slapped his face, then returned to her partner, who had remained on the floor in a pathetic heap of whimpering and tears.

"Stand up, fool," she hissed, "and show the human who you are. I'm sure he'll be very surprised to meet you again." The Irken slowly returned to his feet, then looked at Dib with such hatred and anger that Dib wasn't sure if he wanted to know who this person was. The Irken walked right up to Dib, looked him in the eye and waited.

Dib studied the Irken's face for a few minutes, trying to place a name, when it dawned on him:

"Wait, you're not Irken...you're–"

* * *

"Zim, no one came out positive for impure intentions."

"I know, Chai. I know." Zim, Chai, Mara and Miyuki sat together in a conference room, accompanied by fifty-two other Irken officials. They were discussing, of course, the sudden death of Angra, the kidnaping of Dib and the threat that hung over them all.

"This is a serious problem, my Queen," said one official. "The best action to take is to abandon the base and begin somewhere else."

"No," answered Miyuki, "we will not go into hiding like useless cowards. We will stand up to this threat and fight. If the Irken Armada is on its way, I say we begin our ascent into space. We've come too far and worked too hard to give in to any threats."

"But," interrupted another official, "people will die! Lives will be lost for no reason!"

"When I organized this revolution, each and every Irken I recruited came of their own free will," Miyuki snapped at him. "They are well aware of what's ahead, as am I. We will not give in to threats." Simple, yet powerful. No one challenged her. Zim nodded in agreement, then said,

"In the meantime, I want Dib found. I promised him he'd be safe, and I've failed him. Mara is in charge of the search-and-rescue team. Mara, I want you to utilize every possible resource we have to find him. If you see anyone acting suspicious, I want to know who. I'll give you a list of potential rescuers after the meeting. Chai!"

"Yes?"

"I need you and Skoodge to start repairing any malfunctioning ships and weaponry."

"Can do."

To the officials, Zim ordered a lock-down until it was time to abandon the base. Soldiers were to guard each and every door, security measures included PAK scans for bio-signatures and bio-contracts each Irken had to sign in order to join the Revolution, random searches and the right to ask questions about anything that seemed suspicious. The officials saluted him and their Queen, then went off to begin their new duties. Zim remained where he was and typed out a long list of soldiers for Mara's search and rescue team. He printed it out and gave it to her, and she in turn saluted him and went off to find her team. All that remained were Zim, Miyuki and Chai.

"It's a disaster," Chai sighed. "Everything we worked for is in jeopardy because of two power-hungry mongrels." Zim and Miyuki agreed sadly, then got up and left the room quietly to resume their own posts. Chai got up a few minutes later and went to find Skoodge for their assignment.

* * *

Crappy close to a chapter, I know. I wasn't too into it. HEY! Are there any DeviantArt users here? I have a fun, free assignment for all who want/need something to do. I am not an illustrator-it's a style and mind-frame I am not capable of, being the fine artist I am. I was wondering if people wanted to do any comics or illustrations of this story. It would be only for fun, and who knows-maybe it will be a contest later. Any takers?

-Juana


	12. How Did you Get Here?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. Mara and Machi are property of Monlight the Hedgehog.**

**Anyone interested yet in doing some kind of fan-comic or illustrations for this story? I would be so excited and flattered if they did.**

**-Juana

* * *

**

**Chapter Twelve: How Did You Get Here?**

"...Keef...that's your name, right?" Dib had finally figured out who Tak's partner was. Keef laughed out loudly again and answered stupidly,

"Yeah."

"How did you become partners with Tak? How did you get here? This doesn't make sense!" Keef laughed again, even louder ths time, then answered,

"When Tak arrived at our skool, I saw all the attention she was getting from Zim. I got jealous, so one day I followed her home to her giant weenie stand, but I found out she wasn't really human. She beat me up and told me that if I valued my life, I would tell no one of her plan, and she wouldn't kill me. I said 'okay'. Then she heard something above us and ran off to investigate. Minutes later I heard your voice, then a small explosion, then Zim's voice. By that time I was pissed off at how much time you got to spend with him. So when Tak returned, she and I made a pact to join forces. She accepted me since I seemed to hate you as much as everyone else at skool. Now I'm here, ready to kill you for stealing him away from me."

Dib relaxed and said,

"Okay, so let me get this straight-you think I purposely stole Zim from you so I could get his attention? Are you in crazy? I mean, do you honestly–OW!" Keef kicked Dib's leg and hissed,

"He was my only friend, and after only a day of time spent together, he left me for you. I don't know how you did it, but I'm going to learn so that he'll be mine, and only mine!"

"You're..." Dib was going to say 'insane', then decided against it.

"You're...absolutely right, Keef. I'm sorry. If I had known you liked Zim so much, I would have definitely let you spend more time with him without me there to ruin it. I'm sorry." Keef bought it instantly.

"Really? You mean that? I'm so sorry, Dib! Here, let me help you out of those-"

"NO!" Tak forcefully knocked Keef down and dug her heel into his chest. "You IDIOT! He's lying to you. He wants you to let him go free to warn the betrayers, but we need him. He knows more about Zim than we do."

"Tak, please," Dib pleaded, "I'm of no use to you. I just want peace for your people. Power is nothing compared to happiness."

"Shut up, human. Your race will be next on the Armada's to-do list. As for you, Keef-beast, you stay away from this one and don't listen to a thing he says to you. He wants to sabotage us. He'll take Zim away from you forever, not to mention my promotion as an Invader. Is that clear!"

"Y-yes, ma'm..." Keef huddled into a corner and didn't talk to her or Dib. Tak turned her attention back to Dib.

"The Armada is on its way, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it, rock-dweller. You will die, Zim will die, and that betrayer, that woman they declare as their 'queen', she will die too. But I want all three of you to die in a public execution, aired on intergalactic monitors all over the universe. I want the rest of life itself to know that there is no messing with my people. Your deaths will be slow, painful and so well-known that no race will ever dare defy the Irken race again."

"Tak...you're crazy." Dib knew it was the wrong thing to say, but he didn't care. It had to be said.

Tak gave Dib a cold, dark look, then suddenly leaned over him and bit his neck, cutting into his flesh and drawing blood. Her claws dug deep into his shoulders, despite his protective jacket. Dib screamed-it was the most painful thing he'd ever felt. Irken teeth seemed so clumsy and misshapen, but the reality was they were razor-sharp and intense.

She drew away and allowed his blood to drip from her mouth down her chin and splatter onto the cold floor, like a wild beast after mutilating its unfortunate prey. She eyed him dangerously, then noticed his scars–his flimsy jacket sleeves had fallen past his elbows. Reaching out, she touched his arm, examined the damaged, then drew one sharp claw down ever so slowly. She did not go deep, but Dib winced in pain. Tak smiled malicious and hissed,

"If you thought that hurt, wait until your execution." Dib glared daggers at her, but said nothing. He knew better than to infuriate the crazy woman any further. Tak seemed satisfied with his silence, because she turned around, grabbed a handful of Keef's hair, pulled him up and hissed into his ear,

"Put your disguise back on. We're going to see what's going on for security. Dib-human, scream all you want. No one will hear you." Keef grabbed his mask, and with that, they disappeared in a blinding flash of white light. Dib sighed and winced in sharp pain. He was bleeding badly, but Tak had seemed to know when enough was enough. He knew he wasn't going to bleed to death.

He decided it was time to calm down and think about his situation. First off, he knew his biggest concern was escaping so he could alert Zim and Miyuki. His second concern was getting through to Keef. Why did that dumb kid think Zim preferred Dib? They had hated each other back! Then again, Dib remembered, Keef wasn't too bright. He was impressionable and desperate. It had been no chore for Tak to recruit him as her partner.

Dib looked up at his wrists and suddenly hated himself for being stupid. All this time, his wrists had been simply hanging over the edge of the cuffs-he could slip out easily! Why hadn't Tak noticed that?

"Of course-Tak didn't chain me up...Keef must've done it." Dib began to speak to himself again. He slipped his wrists out easily and got to his feet. He looked around again and said,

"There has to be a way out of here. I just need to think." He continued to search, but he saw no doors or windows. He walked over to the place where Tak and Keef had vanished. He looked down and noticed the floor had a faint ring of soot surrounding a four foot radius. Dib stepped in the ring and instantly experienced a flash of white light. The light swirled around him; it boomed loud and fast. Dib tried to step out, but found he was unable, like he was trapped in this sphere of light.

Then, above him, a female voice asked calmly,

"State your destination." Dib figured it out.

"The Queen Miyuki's room."

"That destination is not available. State your destination."

"Um...okay. The main hall."

"Confirmed." Dib felt his weight shift as a sudden surge of power lifted him off his feet, then slammed him back to solid ground. He fell over and grabbed his neck with a cry. He didn't see which room he'd landed in, if he had landed in the main hall, but he looked up as he heard feet running towards him.

"Oh, crap..." He jumped to his feet and ran like hell. Behind him, a mask-less Keef ran as fast as he could to keep up with Dib, who was quite fast on his feet. Keef wouldn't have a chance. Dib gave his surroundings a closer look, and was glad he did, because he was able to see Tak swing out of nowhere to grab him. He ducked down, away from her sharp little claws and slid across the room for a few feet, then jumped up again.

"HELP!" he yelled desperately, 'HELP! TRAITORS! HELP!"

Three rooms down, Mara and her search-and-rescue team heard his cries for help. She yelled for her soldiers to move out and surround the perimeter. She ran out in the middle of the perimeter and was very surprised to see a bleeding Dib racing like a bat out of hell in her direction. She was even more surprised to see he was being chased by another human. She ripped out her stun gun and aimed it at the strange human's torso, then shot, just barely missing Dib. He jumped out of the way with a cry, fell over, and did a somersault right into an Irken soldier.

Keef was hit with the stun gun and went down quickly. Several officers ran in the direction from which he came in search of the other traitor, while Mara and a few other soldiers went over to examine Keef. Dib slowly got to his feet and joined Mara, who threw her arms around him and said,

"Geez, what happened? Someone bit you...and who is this human?" Dib winced as she gently touched the bite-wound on his neck, then answered,

"I need medical attention. I don't know how much blood I lost, but I'm feeling this stinging effect in my neck and shoulders." He didn't mention the slit Tak had made in his arm.

"Of course. Alek, take him to the medical center NOW," she ordered to a taller Irken. The Irken nodded and took Dib's arm to guide him.

"Wait," Dib said suddenly, "the other traitor is Tak. She's stronger––I've met her once before. She could kill both of us easily, no problem." Mara nodded.

"You're right. I want eight more soldiers to go with Alek and Dib. Protect them and yourselves. We'll take care of the human. Dib, do you know his name?"

"It's Keef. Zim knows him, but they aren't exactly chummy. Agh!" His hand flew to his neck, still concealing the new slit in his arm. Alek pulled him along quickly, followed by the other eight soldiers. Mara watched until they were out of sight, then turned to the rest of her soldiers,

"Let's take this one down for some interrogation. I'm sure Miyuki and Zim would love to see this."

* * *

So! Who knew it was Tak? I know, I know, lame. But Keef? I don't remember how I came to decide to stick his face in here, but I did. Review! Constructive crits, please.

-Juana


	13. Interrogation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. Mara and Machi are property of Moonlight the Hedgehog.**

Hey everyone! I'm glad you liked Chapter Twelve. Chapter Thirteen isn't too exciting, but Fourteen is really cool. So sit back, read and wait in unimaginable impatience for Fourteen to arrive!

That is all.

-Juana

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Interrogation**

Miyuki and Zim were carefully going through emergency evacuation plans when loud knocking on the door interrupted them.

"Who is it?" called Miyuki, who was getting a little irked by the whole situation. On the other side of the door, Mara answered,

"It's the search-and-rescue team, my Queen. We found Dib and we have one of the traitors." Zim ran to the door, opened it quickly and almost happily. It was obvious to Mara that Zim was hoping to see Dib, unharmed and okay. When he saw that Dib wasn't there, he asked nervously,

"Where's Dib, Mara?"

"He needed medical attention. He'll be okay." Zim's face fell drastically.

"Wait–what? Medical attention? What happened?" Mara answered,

"I'll explain. But I think you should join us for the interrogation. It starts in ten minutes. The traitor is being watched by several officers in the interrogation office." Zim agreed. Miyuki came up next to him and sighed,

"Very well. Let's see who this is." She sounded so disappointed and angry. Mara saluted her uncomfortably, then led the way to Keef. She didn't say anything to Zim-she knew he was upset that Dib had gotten hurt, but she also didn't want to irritate him further, especially when she didn't know what his reaction would be like when he would meet with Keef.

Mara entered a code to grant her and the rest of her party access to the interrogation offices, then led the way into one white, sterile and brightly lit room. The perpetrator at the table had his head down. He made no noise whatsoever. As they entered the room, Zim gave the perpetrator's head a look. There was something familiar about that shock of red hair, but what?

"Human," Mara announced, "show our leaders who you are. They're going to have questions for you." Keef kept his head down, but answered,

"Ask me your questions first. Then I'll show you." Mara sighed. Frustrated, she asked,

"Fine. What drove you to join forces with an Irken traitor?"

"She promised me the one thing I wanted most." Zim listened intently– he knew that voice, but who was it? Mara continued asking questions.

"And what was that?"

"Something Dib stole from me." So familiar...who was it?

"Tell us what he stole from you."

That did it. Zim suddenly realized who it was. Jumping onto the table, he pointed at Keef's head and shouted,

"YOU! Are you insane! You-you...imbecile! What did you do to Dib?" Keef finally looked up and shouted back,

"I didn't do anything to him! I think I hit or kicked him once, but Tak beat him more." Mara's eyes flew to Zim-she was surprised at how quickly Keef admitted to anything. She backed away from the table, as did Miyuki and several other Irkens. Zim's face had gone from his natural green to a deep, dark green that meant only one thing: pure, insane rage.

He ran across the table, grabbed Keef by his uniform collar and roared,

"TAK is here? You're in alliance with TAK? That evil, heartless, unworthy RAT! You will tell us EVERYTHING you know regarding her, her plans and the Tallest! Do you have ANY idea what you've done to us? You're going to kill my people!" He was using his loud, frightening acting voice, except this time he wasn't acting. Zim was absolutely furious.

Keef was astounded. This wasn't the reaction he'd expected from Zim-he wanted it to be a happy reunion, but it definitely wasn't working like that. Suddenly, he was filled with a rage similar to that of Zim's, and he jumped up from his seat, disregarding the chains linked to his ankles, and managed to grab Zim's hands. He ripped the Irken's hands off his own collar, then slammed his fist into his cheek. Zim flew back several feet and landed with a crash on the floor. Five officers had to restrain Keef before he hurt anyone else. An officer helped Zim to his feet, then said,

"Sir, this human is dangerous. Let us worry about it. You and the Queen need to work on more pressing matters." But as he said this, Miyuki spoke up:

"Human, tell us where you and Tak are hiding."

"Why should I?" Keef huffed at her angrily. Despite being restrained by several officers, he managed to flip her off. He kept his eyes averted from her's. Miyuki sighed and answered calmly,

"Do you know exactly why you're here?"

"Yeah-to get Zim to notice me."

"Is that why YOU are here?"

"Duh."

"So what about Tak? Do you understand what she wants you here for?" Keef thought about it, then realized that even though she had spoken about it several times, he had never really retained what Tak was saying. He shook his head 'no' and admitted he didn't know. Miyuki nodded sadly and answered,

"As Zim said, she wants to kill us, Zim included. My race is in danger because of her recent actions. The enemy is on its way to destroy us all. Do you understand why this is a serious problem?" Keef processed the information, then, as it began to make sense, he burst into tears.

"I-I'm sorry...I didn't realize what was happening...I'm so stupid..."

"Damn right!" Zim yelled from across the room, still being restrained by the officer. Miyuki put up her hand for silence, then continued,

"Keef, I need you to help me now. Tell us where Tak is hiding." Keef shrugged his shoulders and answered,

"I really don't know. I never saw what she did to get there. It's just a flash of light, then BOOM! We're at wherever we're s'possed to be." Zim's fury grew as he listened to and rejected Keef's useless knowledge.

"How do you not know! If you've done it several times, then you should remember! Or were you too obsessed with finding me that your brain couldn't process-"

"That's quite enough, Zim," Miyuki snapped. Zim bowed his head right away and said nothing. Miyuki turned back to Keef.

"If you don't know, then we're going to need to use you as bait for Tak. We need to find her. Is she disguised at all?"

"I don't know. I don't leave the hiding place often, and she always goes around in the same blue outfit everyone else is here is wearing." Miyuki nodded.

"Alright. Then we're going to wait a few days. Take this human to the prison and lock him up. Don't hurt him." Four officers salute her, then grabbed hold of Keef, who began to scream and beg for forgiveness. Miyuki shook her head and watched them drag the poor, frightened human away. When they were out of sight, the officer restraining Zim released his captain. Zim marched angrily over to Miyuki and said,

"We have no need for him. We should wipe his memory, then send him home."

"We need him to help us find Tak," Miyuki answered calmly. Without her henchman around, she'll be having troubles. I don't think her SIR unit functions well anymore, as you told me?"

"Yes. But-" Mara stepped in right away and changed the subject:

"Let's go see Dib and make sure he's okay." Miyuki nodded and said,

"Yes, that would be a good idea. We'll need to ask him some questions too. I want him to help us in the evacuation plans, if they end up being necessary. Lead the way, my dear." Mara bowed, then motioned for the officers, Miyuki and Zim to follow her to the medical ward. Zim remained unusually quiet during the walk. Miyuki knew what he was thinking, but did not bring it to the group's attention. She would talk to him later. Right now, she needed Dib's help the most.

* * *

Yes. So wait a few days, and you'll get a really spiffy chapter. It will be neat.

-Juana


	14. Infamy Aboard the Massive

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. I do own Chai and Angra and any Irken characters never mentioned in the original show. Mara and Machi are the property of Moonlight the Hedgehog.**

Yes! Over 1000 views! I feel so cool...thanks to everyone who has stuck to this story-your reviews and suggestions made a lot of this possible, since I don't write rough drafts or outlines. So really, this fic is a community work. Thanks everyone!

-Juana

**Chapter Fourteen: Infamy Aboard the Massive**

"Are we there yet?"

"For the last time, NO," huffed an extremely annoyed Tallest Red. Purple had asked him the same question for several days, every hour on the hour, and even though he knew they weren't near their destination yet, he still felt obligated to remind his co-leader of how impatient he was. Red sighed after answering and looked out across the vast void of the universe that folded out before him as he reclined in his chair.

Purple had become more demanding the past several days since they had learned more about the Revolution, and became even more in control than Red. His simple-minded obsession with snacks seemed to have subsided, as he was now obsessed with reaching Earth and destroying Miyuki. He also wanted Chai badly.

Ever since Purple had murdered the Irken slave, the rest of the crew had grown uneasy around him. His temper had become more unpredictable and frightening. He snapped and yelled at everyone who had even the slightest bit of slightly bad news. He nearly hit one female slave who had the misfortune of telling him there were no more curly fries on board, but had been restrained by Red, who was getting extremely aggravated and sick of Purple's odd behavior.

"When are we gonna be there, huh? Huh? Huh?" His high-pitched voice echoed in the cavernous room until it hit Red's last nerve.

"Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Shut UP! For crying out loud, shut the fuck UP!" Red's sudden outburst of anger made the room even more silent and uneasy. Not even the computers allowed themselves to beep periodically for several minutes. The heavy silence weighed down on everyone until Purple retaliated with,

"Excuse me? Did you just tell me to 'shut up'? I get the feeling you aren't as dedicated to destroying the infidels that have abandoned us as I am. Are you on their side, Red? Hmm? Is that what this is about?"

"No, it ISN'T. I'm just sick of you asking me the same damn question when you and I are both fully aware that we are not 'there yet'. You've changed for the worse. And I'm not the only one who–" He stopped himself, realizing what he wanted to say would possibly and most certainly lead to more unnecessary deaths. But Purple wasn't going to drop it so easily. He hissed back at Red,

"Go on, finish that last little thing. Who else is getting 'sick' of me?" When he received no response, he got up from his seat and floated down to the pilots and coordinators. They held back shudders and held their breath in torturous anticipation of an angry outburst. Purple floated over to each and observed them with something similar to that of hate in his eyes, only much worse. Each Irken he floated over became incredibly still and unable to focus on their jobs. He did this to each and every Irken until he was bored. He returned to his seat and glared daggers at his co-leader, who glared back angrily.

Nothing more was said between them the rest of the day. The murderous silence floated in the air and seemed to spread through the rest of the Massive, where it remained sustained for several more days. Things aboard the massive were not well.

Meanwhile, back on earth:

"Request permission to enter facility," Mara announced into a special communication system solely for the medical ward. She waited for a response outside a large, thick stainless steel door that was obviously locked. Zim played with his hands nervously as he waited for the response-he felt horrible. He had promised Dib would be okay, and yet he had failed his new friend. A beating from Tak? What had that boy endured? Zim still didn't know about the bite and cut yet-Mara could only hope he wasn't going to completely blow his top off.

"Permission granted," answered a mechanical voice only seconds later. A high beeping noise emitted from the ceiling. Mara grabbed the door handled and pulled the door open towards her. The beeping stopped as soon as she forced the door open considerably. She allowed her party to enter, then let herself in, slamming the heavy door shut behind them.

The medical ward was just as empty as the morgue had been. It was sterile and white, just like the interrogation offices, and was quite eerie. But the Irkens were unaware of how eerie the setting was to a certain human laying on a small bed just to their right, his unharmed arm draped over his eyes.

The Irken doctor welcomed the visitors to his ward. Zim saluted him and said,

"Dr. Hosh, thank you for keeping an eye on Dib. Is he okay? He wasn't hurt too badly, was he?" The doctor made a strange noise, then said,

"Well . . . he has a pretty bad wound on his neck, but nothing fatal. The incision in his arm is nothing to worry about."

"Oh...didn't Dib tell you?" Zim asked calmly. The doctor shook his head and indicated that, no, Dib had not told him anything. Zim took the doctor aside and whispered discreetly,

"He used to have a really bad problem with hurting himself. He's all right now, though." The doctor gave Zim a quizzical look, then said,

"No, sir. This one is brand new. It's a fresh cut." Zim returned the look, only he mixed it with a bit of surprise and disappointment, then turned on his heel and marched over to Dib. Without even asking, Zim grabbed Dib's harmed wrist and gave it a dark look. Dib took his free arm from his eyes and said,

"Hey. What's wrong?"

"Tak. Did she do this to you?" Zim sounded serious and angry. Dib answered,

"Yeah. It's okay, though. Don't worry about it, Zim." Zim continued to examine the hurt arm, then remembered what the doctor had said about a neck wound. He released Dib's wrist and proceeded to inspect the bite mark. He gently pushed Dib's head to the side and gasped as he saw the real damage for the first time. He didn't touch the wound, though he wanted to, and said,

"Dib, how did you escape like this? You could have been killed." Dib, whose head was still being pushed to the side, answered,

"I managed. I had no idea how sharp Irken teeth were. It hurt like hell."

"I can imagine. I want you to stay here until you're healed and ready." Dib made a sound that resembled a mutter, then he suddenly snapped his head back and looked straight into Zim's eyes.

"Is-was Angra really–murdered?" He choked on the last word. The question hit everyone, including Zim, hard. He looked away from Dib and sighed sadly. That was all Dib needed. He sat up and said,

"I want to go back to the operating room, with the computers. I need to avenge him." Zim looked back up at Dib and said,

"No, not yet. Not when Tak is out there. If she kidnaped you before, she'll do it again. We have Keef in custody. If you go missing, she'll probably use you as a hostage until she gets Keef back."

"But–"

"NO. You'll stay here until further notice. Right now, you can tell us anything you can about Tak's hiding place." Dib was annoyed that he wasn't being allowed to go free, but he did want to help. So he began to tell the entire party about how he had escaped.

"...and then I was caught in this swirly light thingy that asked for a destination to be dropped off at. That's were Mara found me."

"At the drop-off point?"

"Yeah."

Mara interrupted him and said to her team,

"Move people. Go back to that point and search until you find something. I have something to do." Her team saluted her, and she in return, then ran off to investigate. Mara turned back to Dib and Zim and said,

"Remember how before I was observing you, Dib? It's time to put that information to use." She produced a small, matte-grey sphere from her PAK, along with two wires, one pink and one lavender. Then, in each wire, she slid in one needle each. She looked at Dib, ready to explain the process, but he nodded. He understood exactly what she was doing.

She nodded back and slid the pink wire and needle into Dib's arm, then did the same to herself with the lavender wire and needle. She fiddled with the grey sphere, then released it from her grasp. Instead of falling to the ground, it remained airborne, where it trembled slightly. Dib shuddered slightly as a chilling sensation ran through his arm, into his chest, down his torso and coursed through his legs.

Zim watched, always fascinated by this process. Miyuki stood quietly, also watching. Dib kept his eyes directly on Mara, who, very slowly, began to transform. Her small head grew wider, her antennae took on a more human hair-like nature, and her body grew a little taller. Her skin went pale, and her eyes became less Irken and more human. Dib couldn't believe what he was witnessing.

"_Transformation complete_," the little sphere chirped suddenly. It stopped hovering and nearly dropped, but Mara reached out and grabbed it. Dib's heart was racing-she had done it! She was him–it was so incredible! There she was, standing before them all, but not as Mara. She was Dib. That's when Dib began to think about the whole concept.

"Wait-if she's me, then . . . oh, wow!" He looked down at his hands and found he was not Dib. He was Mara. His pale human hands were now green Irken claws. He was shorter, his head was smaller. He removed his glasses and found he could see very well without them. He handed them over to Mara and said,

"You'll need these." She smiled and agreed in Dib's voice,

"Indeed. I can't see a thing." Zim allowed himself to chuckle a bit, then said,

"Well, Mara, that was exciting. You two will need to swap clothing now, and then you can get to your mission. Dib, give her your usual outfit, including the Irken uniform, and she'll give you hers. Not only must you look like the other, but you must smell like the other. Irken noses are extremely sensitive. Scent is contained best within clothing fibers." Dib nodded and jumped off the little bed to take his outfit off. He was going to go behind something to undress, but when Mara stripped down right in front of everyone, he knew right away it wasn't uncommon to undress in front of others.

They switched clothes and soon, they were the other. Dib was Mara, and Mara was Dib. She patted his Irken head and said,

"You stay safe, all right? Don't do anything you would normally do. If you see Tak, get out of there as soon as possible and report to anyone you know well." Dib nodded. Mara saluted Miyuki and Zim, then went off to begin her mission: lure out Tak and capture her by any means necessary. Zim turned his attention to Miyuki.

"My Queen, what should we do now?" Miyuki looked up at the ceiling in deep thought, then said,

"I want Dib to stay here, just for observation. After tonight, he can be released. I want to see what happens in the next twelve hours." Dib agreed with her, then said,

"Is there anything I can do down here?"

"No. I want you to rest and heal. Tomorrow, we will need you back in the computer room."

"Okay. Zim?"

"Yes?"

"...I'm sorry about Angra." Zim sighed.

"Me too, kid. Me too."

End Chapter Fourteen. is being difficult right now...This chapter was cool for me to write. I didn't know how I was ever going to describe the transformation, but I managed. Chapter Fifteen is finished as well, so expect that soon. Enjoy!

-Juana


	15. Cogitations and Accords

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. Angra and Chai are property of Juana la Cliker-Rooster. Mara and Machi and property of Moonlight the Hedgehog.**

**Here you go! The next several chapters will be the action for this story, so hold to your socks! These are a little violent, so please don't read if you don't feel comfortable with it. Please review as always, and let me know if you have any fan characters you'd like in here.**

**-Juana**

**Chapter Fifteen: Cogitations and Accords**

'None of this was supposed to happen. We've worked years and years for this, used our time and talents to the best of our ability and beyond, and yet we still run the risk of undeniable failure, all because of one power-hungry woman.'

Around the center of an empty, darkly-lit conference room, Zim paced back and forth anxiously. After his departure from the medical ward, he needed to be alone to think. He was deeply distressed over the events of the past two days. Even though everyone was on their toes and on the lookout for Tak, something bigger had Zim worried. He knew the Tallest were coming, accompanied by the Armada, and he knew he needed to evacuate his people soon. But where would they go? If they started a new underground base anywhere, they would still be found. Zim wasn't stupid–he realized that if there was one traitorous Irken on board, there was the possibility of more being here, too. Maybe Tak wasn't the only one. Maybe she was the leader of a whole secret army.

'And if she is leading some kind of group, then we're in more danger than I first thought. Eh . . . I don't know what to do anymore. I'm scared. I don't want to lose anyone because of Tak. And Keef . . . that stupid moron . . . how could he jeopardize our lives for something so useless? Obsession. How worthless . . . '

Zim's thoughts led him back to Chai's ship. He knew that the Tallest knew Chai had never been inside the ship-the ship wasn't set to self-destruct yet! How did they know?

'Of course. PAK-sensitive scanners can scan from hundreds of miles away. So now they know Chai is part of our resistance. She's in direct danger.'

"DAMMIT!" Zim slammed down both his fists angrily as he yelled out the profanity. He loved Chai-he didn't want to see anything harmful to come her way because of any bad moves he or anyone else made.

KSSSH...

Zim looked up at the ceiling almost instantly. Something was moving around up there. He listened hard for anything else, then looked back down at his hands. He waited for some more scratching above him, then said without thinking,

"Who's there?" His voice was bold and fearless. Above him, a shrill, cold and awful laughter filled the silence of the room and surrounded him in an embrace of chilling cold. Zim got to his feet calmly and said,

"Show yourself, Tak. I recognize your voice and pitch."

"Very clever, little Zim," Tak giggled somewhere above him. "Very clever. Tell me, what are you thinking about that made you yell out like that?"

"You and your recent actions, of course," Zim answered sarcastically.

"Well, I'm flattered." Tak's voice echoed and came at Zim from each and every point in the massive room. He had no way of distinguishing where she was.

"Zim," Tak asked, "where is my human servant? He was taken by your men, and I want him back."

"I don't think so, Tak. After what you did to Dib, I won't be so forgiving."

"Oh, your little human dork? I hardly touched him. I gave him a small beating, but that's nothing compared to the execution you and your foolish old Queen will be suffering." Zim was getting tired of this. He prepared himself to release his spider-like legs from his PAK when something sharp and cold whipped around his neck and pressed against his skin. He remained calm and said,

"Release me, Tak." She pressed whatever the sharp object was deeper against his neck and hissed into his antennae,

"Don't say my name. You say it with such disgust." She slowly and gently ran one hand down the side of his face, scratching his cheek ever so slightly, then cupped it over his mouth tightly.

"Don't try to call for help, traitor," she hissed again. Zim remained unbelievably calm. Tak's other hand grabbed each of his wrists from behind him, where she held them behind his back tightly. Zim's eyes moved downward to see just what exactly was pressing against his neck, seeing as it wasn't her hands. It looked like a spider-leg, but it was enhanced–it had been sharpened down in the fashion of a scythe.

"Impressed, no?" Tak whispered softly into his antennae. "I did that myself. I wanted to perfect the average Irken, and I've done it. Several times, actually. I have things you and the rest of the garbage here don't. This is just one of those things. One wrong move can be fatal. Do I have your attention now?"

Zim's voice was muffled, but he still managed to get out an comprehensible 'yes'. He could feel Tak's lips softly moving into a cold, twisted smile against his skin. He shuddered only slightly as a chilling shiver traveled through his spine, then waited for her to say whatever she needed to say.

"Zim, we all want something in life. You want this so-called 'freedom', and you want it so badly that you'll promise it to anyone who will listen. 'Anyone who will listen' turned into a huge crowd of misguided mavericks whose dreams you now need to make a reality. I'm a little more realistic. I want to become an Invader, something that has been achieved by many Irkens before me, you being one of them. I want power, for people to fear me, and respect. You and I have a very different set of ideals. Now, in order for us to live in some level of harmony, we need to listen to each other, yes? Answer me." Zim made another muffled sound that was a 'yes'. Tak giggled strangely and dug her thick, sharp claws into his cheek. He winced, but made no sound. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of hearing his screams. Tak continued.

"Good. So listen to me: I want my human. You give him to me, and I'll be less of a nuisance. I won't leave, of course, but I won't be such a hazard. Deny my request, then I'll have no choice but to remove one soldier from your ranks every few days. You'll have no way of ever knowing who will be next, or when the next death occurs. Do we have a deal?"

This time, Zim made a noise that was neither a 'no' or a 'yes'. It was a response much longer than either. Tak removed her hand from his lips and demanded that he repeat himself.

"I said, you're out of your mind."

That was Zim's wrong move. As soon as he'd said it, Tak's newly-renovated spider-leg dragged slowly across his neck. He bit his lip and held back the scream in his throat, yet now was unable to completely suppress his fear. Tak watched, engrossed in Zim's suffering. He could feel warm blood slipping slowly down his neck and onto his uniform. Tak laughed out loudly again and hissed harshly,

"Does that hurt you? I want to hear you scream and beg for mercy, you worm."

"No. I wo–aah!" Tak cut a little deeper, a huge, maniacal grin on her face. She held Zim closer against her, holding his head back as she cut him.

"Give me my human," she demanded again, "and I won't kill you or anyone here." Her claws dug deeply into his forehead. He continued to refuse her demand over and over again, enduring more claw-digging and slices into his neck, until...

"If you don't give me my human, my first target will be the Queen. Or Dib. Or maybe Chai. I know how much she means to you, Zim."

Zim was quiet. He closed his eyes, sighed, then whispered hoarsely,

"Fine. But you need to promise me you will harm no one." Tak laughed triumphantly, then whipped Zim around to face her.

"Agreed." They agreed on it Irken style, then Zim tried to back away from her, but before he could, Tak reached out and grabbed his chin roughly. She inspected his face carefully, then said,

"If you tell anyone the real reason how you got these injuries, I will go back on my word and kill anyone I see fit. Here, let me help you get cleaned up." She pulled him closer, then pushed his head back. She leaned in and licked the blood dripping from his neck roughly. Zim shuddered as her tongue slid across his skin in an uncomfortable and awkward fashion. She moved away and hissed,

"Not bad. Dib's blood was almost as enjoyable. Almost." Tak's spider-legs lifted her off the ground and back above Zim into the darkness of the conference room. Her voice called down,

"Tonight. Bring me my human in room fourteen, sector G. Alone."

She was gone. Zim stared up at the ceiling, breathing hard and still shuddering every few seconds. He dropped to his knees and allowed himself to cry as he began to realize the full, dangerous potential of Tak. For nearly a half-hour he remained there, scared, worried and torn. He didn't know what to do, or how he would get Keef out of prison. He finally gathered his thoughts and picked himself up off the floor. He knew he needed to leave and take care of his injuries before he did anything else. He left the conference room and maneuvered his way carefully through the hallways, avoiding anyone that walked in his direction. He wanted no one to ask about what happened.

He finally found an unoccupied bathroom that was very different from the human bathroom. This one had waste-disposal units, but it also contained first-aid kits for Irkens. Zim rummaged through the kit, which was enormous, and found what he needed: a strong anti-bacterial wash for his cuts and absorbent, sterile pads for drying with. He cleaned the cuts and tried to find a way to hide them all, which ended up being an impossible task. There was no way he could conceal the claw marks in his forehead and cheek, nor the slices in his neck. He made up and practiced a quick lie about being hugged by GIR, then left the bathroom, now more deeply distressed then ever before.

------------------ -- --

Yes, that was a very dark chapter. Please review and recommend this story to others. I'd appreciate it.

-Juana


	16. Bait

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters.**

Yes, my friends, I have returned once more with another chapter! I have only three weeks of summertime left, and when I get back to school, I'll be putting the story on hold again. However, I am in the process of writing much more so that when I update, it won't take a whole year to do so. Chapter Nineteen has already been started, too. So we're good. I don't want to keep anyone waiting, especially now that I'm on a roll. But when school starts, well, school starts. But don't worry-I want to have updated to at least chapter 19 before school starts. Peace!

-Juana

**Chapter Sixteen: Bait**

Zim power-walked back to the prison ward in search of someone who would allow him custody of Keef. He knew the best thing to do would be to tell Miyuki about what happened, but then who knew how Tak would respond? Zim's mind was racing-he had never even thought about whether or not he could trust Tak. Just because they made a deal didn't necessarily mean she would uphold her end of the bargain. She could be getting Keef and still be bent on going on traitor manhunts.

As he walked along, he listened carefully for anything unusual, but no luck. He wanted to hear Tak above him, watching his every move. He was more prepared for her attacks now that he knew she was watching him. He stopped every few minutes, when he heard something similar to scratching, but he knew that it was never Tak that he heard.

Zim reached the prison ward and found it to be extremely well-guarded. He silently cursed himself for ordering such maximum security, then marched up to a large guard. The guard looked down at Zim, scanned him for verification and saluted.

"Evening, sir. How may I assist you?" Zim cleared his throat and said,

"I need to speak with the human prisoner. I may need him to be released into my custody for a while."

"Yes, sir. The Queen was telling us she would need him for 'bait' reasons." He allowed Zim into the cell. After the door was slammed shut, Zim looked around and found Keef huddling in the corner, whimpering and crying. Zim almost felt bad for him, then remembered that the human scum had helped in the murder of Angra and assisted in harming Dib. He gritted his clumsy teeth and quietly declared in a dark, frightful tone,

"Keef. I'm here to take you away for a while. Get up off the floor and come with me." Keef didn't look at Zim right away. However, he did reply,

"I hate you. I hate you, Zim! All this time, you've made me look like some obsessive idiot. All I wanted was some attention, and you denied me that attention. Instead, you gave it all to that crazy Dib. You made me feel wanted for one day, then dropped me as soon as my . . . my . . . my 'warranty' ran out! I'm not going anywhere with you, especially if it's to help you."

Zim's frustration hit him sooner than he would have expected. He marched over to Keef, snatched him up by his collar and hissed,

"Keef, the fate of my people rests on my shoulders and your freedom. You come with me, and help me save my people. Stay here, and I will see to it that your memories of all you've seen here are erased immediately. Is that understood, you worthless worm?" He dropped Keef back to the floor and stood over him, fists placed on his hips. Keef stared at the small person above him, and suddenly realized that size meant nothing compared to emotions. Zim was beyond pissed off. Keef nodded in terrified agreement and said,

"Y-yes, s-sir . . . " He stood up and followed Zim out the door. Zim announced to the guards that he would be taking Keef away for a while, and they very simply allowed it. Zim had expected so much more than that, but here it was. Breaking Keef out was easier than anything he'd ever done. He grabbed Keef's arm and dragged the pitiful human back towards the hallway. As soon as Zim's foot touched the hallway floor, he ran right into Mara, now disguised as Dib.

"Hi, Dib," Zim said with a nod. She nodded back and said,

" Hey, Zim, what's up? Why is Keef out here with you?" Zim gave her a look that they had all been taught, the look that said, 'Keep a close watch and be prepared for anything.' Then he said,

"I'm using the human to lure out Tak. I know she's around here somewhere, and I want to catch her off guard." He then gave her the look that said, 'Follow me and keep a safe distance.' Mara-Dib nodded and said,

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. See ya later. Good luck."

"Bye, Dib." As soon as Mara-Dib walked away, Keef shrieked,

"Oh, I HATE HIM! He always gets good attention from you, you jerk! You can't use me as bait! Dib would be better–Tak hates him too! Let me GO!" He tried to yank away from Zim's strong grip, but he ended up hurting himself in the attempt. Zim rolled his eyes and hissed,

"Shut up, you moron. Let's go." He continued to drag Keef along until they reached room fourteen in Sector G. Keef continued to struggle, when Zim suddenly slammed him into the wall and hissed,

"Stay right here. Don't move, don't talk. Just sit here, shut up and wait." He pulled something similar to human handcuffs and slapped one end on Keef's wrist and the other end to a handle on the wall. Zim then walked around the room, keeping watch. He saw Mara-Dib hiding several yards away in the shadows, watching for any signs of Tak.

Forty minutes went by, and Tak still hadn't shown up. Zim was beginning to get annoyed when he heard something crash outside. He looked out to see what the problem was when he noticed that Mara-Dib was no longer hiding where she had been before. Zim's antennae suddenly perked up–someone was behind him, watching him intently. He turned around slowly and found himself once again with Tak.

She wasn't alone. Next to her stood a now-free Keef, and in her arms she held an unconscious Mara-Dib. Zim's eyes widened in shock.

"H-how did you . . . when did you . . . how . . . ?" Tak, once again, laughed out loud and cackled,

"Oh, Zim. Zim, Zim, Zim. I'm too much for you, I can see it now. I thank you for bringing me my human, but for all the troubles you caused us, I'll be taking your own human child back with me. You can be assured that no one will die for a while, not even your human. But if I were you, I'd keep on my toes. So long, twerp!" A sudden, bright white light emitted from below her, engulfing her, Keef and their captive. Zim shielded his eyes, then looked back at where they had been standing to find they were gone. No sign of them anywhere.

Zim fell to his knees once more and screamed angrily at the emptiness. Tak had taken Mara–when she found out it wasn't Dib she had, she'd be beyond furious. Zim jumped to his feet and decided to go make sure the real Dib was okay. He ran out of room fourteen and back towards the medical ward as fast as his legs could go, then tripped and fell over then a sick 'thud'. A nurse ran out and helped him up, then looked him in the eye.

"Sir, I'm sorry. We couldn't stop her . . . she just swooped down and took her . . . please . . ." Zim stared at her with astonishment in his eyes.

"No . . . Don't tell me Tak took Dib, too!"

"No, sir, she took Mara. There was nothing we could do . . ." Zim pushed the nurse off and entered the room Dib had been told to stay, only to find it was empty and showed signs of a struggle. He stood there, aghast at the scene.

Tak had kidnaped Dib a second time, as well as Mara. She had them both, regardless of whom they were disguised as. Zim could feel his anger rising up, heating his entire body dangerously. He would not forgive Tak for this. He knew what he needed to do, and he needed to do it now. He ran out of the medical ward and towards Miyuki's chambers. He beat on her door until she opened. She looked shock at his sudden attack on her door and gasped,

"Oh, no. What's happened now, Zim?"

"My Queen, I'm sorry. This is my fault. Tak forced me into giving Keef back, and now she has him as well as Mara and Dib . . . She threatened to kill our soldiers if I didn't give her Keef, and I couldn't let that happen. Please forgive me." Miyuki kneeled down to Zim and gently cupped his chin. Eyeing him carefully, she asked,

"Zim, what happened to you? Where did these wounds come from?"

"Miyuki, please! Don't worry about it. Right now, we need to rectify this situation!" Miyuki gave him one last worried look, then stood back up and spoke into a PA system:

"Code Red. Repeat, this is a Code Red. Two of our ranks have been kidnaped by the traitor Tak. Keep and eye out for missing colleagues Mara and Di-aah!" A low rumbling shook the entire base, knocking the Queen down. Zim fell over as well. The rumbling continued and would not stop. Zim dragged himself over to Miyuki, who reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Miyuki, we need to get out of here1 I don't think this is a normal earthquake!"

"It's not!" Miyuki shouted back. "I think our problems just got worse!" Behind them, a loud, booming voice hissed behind them,

"Your problems have been made more than worse. They've been interrupted forever." Zim and Miyuki looked over their shoulders, still holding on to one another and, upon seeing the mysterious person behind them, let out a scream of shock and terror.

-----------------------------

Ooh! What's happening! You'll find out soon enough. Anyway, I'm going to be a dork and leave some links for fan-sites I love. First is http/zim. just go through the archive, starting with 06/02/06, and go from there. Happy rocks. then, go to and search for "Invader Zim". some pointers: bleedman, tekuri and Krusnik007 have awesome fan art galleries. I love them. peace.

-juana


	17. Massive Intrusions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. Mara belongs to Moonlight the Hedgehog.**

Sorry about the wait. I couldn't focus on the story for a while. Anyway, here's chapter 17. I've just finished chapter 19, and man, it is a doozy. Anyway, enjoy!

**Chapter Seventeen: Massive Intrusions**

The entire underground base continued to shake and quake. Irkens went down, knocked unconscious or killed. Many held onto each other for safety. Many were so scared that they began to cry. They tried to reach their own version of a more advanced Richter scale to determine the cause of the quaking, but before they could, a bright pink light lit up the entire base. Suddenly, as desperate screams filled the room, Irkens began to disappear. Once holding a comrade, then holding nothing, the Irkens began to panic even more. The disappearances continued until no one was left in the underground base.

Irkens, dead, alive and unconscious, piled high into one large room on a strange new place. Zim and Miyuki, however, found themselves in front of their fallen soldiers and at the very foot of their captors. Zim got to his feet and roared,

"You disgusting, evil monsters! Let my people go!" As soon as he'd said this, his captors' laughter filled the entire hall, echoing loudly.

"Oh, pathetic little Zim. It's not that easy." Zim retaliated angrily,

"We will destroy you and everything you stand for. Give my people freedom or suffer the consequences, you worthless–"

"Red, do YOU think we stand a chance against the traitors?" Purple asked sarcastically. Red laughed and answered,

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. Soldiers! Place them all under arrest for treason against the Irken Empire! Bring Miyuki, Zim and Chai to us in twenty minutes in the Great Hall." The Tallest left the room, still laughing. Several Massive soldiers roughly grabbed Zim and Miyuki's arms and carried them away, while hundreds of robotic arms sprung forth from the walls to imprison Revolution soldiers.

Miyuki and Zim were thrown into the Great Hall, where their arms and legs were bound to crucifix-like boards made of steel and circuits. Long, thick wires sprung forth from the backs of the boards and planted themselves into Zim and Miyuki's PAKs. Zim stared angrily up at the two thrones before him with disgust and hatred. Miyuki sighed and began to hum a song she had learned hundreds of years ago on the planet where she had learned about family. Zim listened to her song, but it didn't stop him from wanting to kill the Tallest. After twenty minutes of hanging there, the Tallest entered the Great Hall. Behind him, Zim could hear feet shuffling into the Hall quickly.

It was already time for the public execution to take place.

"Where is Chai?" Purple asked, annoyed. An officer answered,

"We couldn't find her, sir."

"Oh well. Later, then. Great Irken soldiers! Loyal servants! Everyone else!" Red's voice boomed confidently over the crowd, "we have here two very dangerous traitors here! They have tried to break away from their own heritage, but we have successfully captured them and will now bring them to justice! They shall pay for their crimes against the Irken Empire, and their crimes against you, my people!" The crowed roared happily. Zim began to struggle, but as he did, a painful zap went through his entire body. He screamed and fell limp, but was still conscious.

"Irken Zim," Red smirked, "Do you have any last words for your pathetic cause?" Zim looked back up at Red with glowing hatred in his eyes, then spat,

"Y-yeah, I do. I want everyone here to know that I betrayed not my people, but the oppression that has held all your minds captive since your births! I refuse to conform to the standard that all Irkens are expected to live by, because I believe in being an individual! I believe in freedom in both body and mind!"

Red and Purple laughed, followed by the now somewhat-unsure, fake laughter of the crowd behind Zim.

"Thank you, traitorous defective. Before we execute you, we think there's someone you'd like to say goodbye to one last time. Guards, bring us the human child." Zim gasped when he saw several soldiers roughly throw Mara, still disguised as Dib, onto the stage. She fell over and landed on her side with a grunt. Purple reached down, grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet.

"Is this your precious human, Zim? The one who, in just a few days, managed to destroy our computers and SIR units? The one who introduced spying hardware into our systems?"

Zim didn't answer. He continued to stare at her. Mara-Dib didn't give him any signs that she was okay. In fact, she looked like she'd been beaten pretty badly. Purple shook her and yelled,

"WELL? IS IT NOT THE SAME HUMAN, ZIM?" Zim, defeated, nodded his head and answered,

"It is."

Behind him, the crowd of Irkens roared with laughter. Zim tried to turn his head around to see, then turned back to the Tallest. He gasped again when he saw who else was on the stage with the horrible dictators.

"Zim, don't lie to us. We know we have Mara here. Your human is disguised as she, and she disguised as he. Let's fix that, shall we?" A small Irken slave timidly walked across the stage and presented the Tallest with the exact same transformation kit Mara had used on Dib. Red jabbed the needles back into Mara-Dib and Dib-Mara's arms and waited for the transformation to be complete. Many Irkens in the audience ooh-ed and aah-ed at the stunning sight. Apparently, body transformations of this form were not too common for Irkens.

When the transformation was complete, both Dib and Mara, now returned to normal, fainted. The crowd laughed and cheered behind Zim and Miyuki. Miyuki finally looked up, stopped humming and shouted in a bold, fierce voice,

"Why do you mock us? We have done nothing wrong but make the attempt to bring freedom in both mind and body to you all, and this is how you repay us? Do you not realize your leaders have an iron grip over each and every one of you? You may do nothing with them around, except work and be slaves to the Irken machine!"

A silence fell over the crowd. Some of the Irkens were thinking about what she'd said, while others thought she was still just an old fool. Red and Purple noticed this sudden silence, and it scared them. They took action.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Purple yelled. "It's time we deactivate your defective minds and remove you from our society forever!" He and Red walked over to a control board that was connected to the crucifix-boards. One press of a button would slowly destroy Zim and Miyuki for good. The crowd grew silent again. Zim and Miyuki closed their eyes and waited for the advent of their dooms.

Red and Purple went for a button each, slowly, slowly . . .

The suspense was killing everyone . . .

Slowly, slowly . . .

WHAM!

The entire Massive shifted as something huge knocked into it. Red and Purple latched onto the control board and each other to avoid falling.

"Ah, screw this!" Purple yelled. He unceremoniously lifted his fist high and brought it down on Zim's circuit. The little Irken screamed as a horrible, blinding pain scorched and sizzled through his tiny body. He was dying cruelly and slowly, the way no one should ever have to suffer. No thoughts ran through his mind, no feelings coursed through his heart. Only this deafening, horrible pain.

And then it stopped abruptly. Zim's body hung limply from the bonds attached to his limbs, breathing hard and muttering incoherently to himself. He didn't see Dib and Mara jump up from their fake unconsciousness on the floor to kick the Tallest down. Another crash sent the entire hall down on the floor as well. Dib and Mara fell off the stage and slid back sharply. Thinking quickly, Dib reached out and grabbed Mara's ankle, then grabbed onto Zim's circuit board. Mara flipped herself up and released her spider-legs from her PAK. She scuttled over to Miyuki and began to break her bonds.

"Don't worry, my Queen, we'll be outta here in no time!"

Dib wrapped his legs around a thick wire and gently lifted Zim's head. Looking at his friend, he saw only desolation and emptiness in Zim's muted, dying eyes. Zim's entire body was burned-the little Irken continued to babble on incoherently. Dib fought back tears of resentment towards the Tallest and began to break Zim free from his captivity. Mara, he saw, had already broken Miyuki free. Miyuki's spider-legs jumped out, and they both began to help Dib save Zim. The task was done quickly, and each female grabbed a male. Mara carried Dib out, while Miyuki carried her child out.

"HEY! WAIT! NOOOO!" Purple screamed after them, still down on the floor. "GET BACK HERE SO WE CAN KILL YOU!" He had a difficult time finding something his spider-legs could cling to, then heard a moan behind him. Rolling his dioxazine eyes, he reached down and grabbed his co-leader's arm and pulled him up. Red's spider-legs jumped out of his PAK and clung onto something. Then he bellowed,

"WHAT HAPPENED! Why did we all lose our balance? YOU!" He shouted at a random Irken, "find out what happened!" The little Irken saluted him and began to crawl through the toppled crowd. Purple, on the other hand, was beyond giving just orders. Looking to his left, he snatched up a female computer technician and snapped her neck. The mumbling, grunting and cursing in the crowd stopped suddenly, all eyes locked and frozen on their Tallest. He stared back for a minute, then screamed,

"WELL! WHAT ARE YOU LITTLE NOTHINGS STARING AT! FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED AND FIND THE TRAITORS! I WANT ZIM AND MIYUKI EXECUTED BY THE END OF THIS DAY!" The crowd slowly averted their eyes from his and began to break away from the confusion, crawling and spider-legging it off each other.

"Well, this is no good. What happened?"

"I don't know, Red. But someone had better figure out what soon, or I'll–"

"Kill another innocent person?" Red hissed under his breath. "You can't keep doing that–one more death will lead to some kind of uprising, don't you realize that? This group of brainwashed morons still understands what constitutes as grounds for lunacy." Purple made a face, then said,

"Let's go find those sneaky little bastards."

––––———————

"Oh God, wake up! Wake up! You can't die like this! They'll win if you die!" Miyuki, Dib and Mara had found a secluded area that had been damaged pretty badly. Miyuki cradled Zim's limp body in her arms, while Dib was trying hard to wake him up. Zim was still alive, but just barely. He continued to babble on in incoherent Irken, but he seemed completely unaware of whom he was with, or where he was. Mara was keeping watch for any soldiers, but there was no one manning the halls yet–everyone had been in the Great Hall for the executions.

"Dammit, Zim! Wake up! You're still alive, man!" Dib shook Zim, tapped his face, pulled his antennae and even bit his hand, but nothing worked. Zim was gone in the mental sense. Dib looked up at Miyuki, whose face was now tear-stained and very worn. Her old age seemed to increase as she gazed at her dying soldier and child. Dib felt a warm stinging at the back of his eyes, and he gave in to them. The two of them sat there, crying over their loss, when Mara stepped forward and said,

"My Queen, there may be hope yet. If we can find a flash health unit, we can revive Zim fully, mentally and physically."

"I know, dear. But where can we find one when we're being searched for on the enemy's ship? We have no chance."

"Miyuki, there is no one out there. If we just–" Right as she said it, several voices filled the hallway. She covered her mouth with her hands to shut herself up, then moved backwards to hide, though it was in vain. Miyuki held Zim closer to her as several shadows began to loom towards them. Dib and Mara held onto each other like glue, dreading what would happen.

"Down here! I heard something!" The shadows drew closer...closer...closer...

"Hey, I found some people! Over here!" As an alien walked in through the entrance, Dib continued to squeeze Mara for dear life, but she relaxed and asked the strangers,

"Wh-who are you?" The strange alien in front of her aimed a gun at her head and announced,

"We . . . are the RESISTY!"

----------------------------

I know what you're thinking: THEM. The Resisty. I know, but I promised "allies" at some point here, so I need to live up to my promise. It'll still be a good story, I promise!

-Juana


	18. The Resisty Is Good For Something?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters.**

**Chapter Eighteen: The Resisty is Actually Good For Something?**

"I'm sorry. What?" Mara gave the new aliens a quizzical look. The little person in front of her, a greyish-purple Vortian, repeated,

"The RESISTY! We are here to eradicate the Irken race for its crimes against the rest of the universe! Prepare yourselves for destruction!"

"NO!" Mara cried, throwing her empty hands up in protest, "We're doing the same thing–we may be Irken, but we don't believe in what our people stand for. Please, listen to us." The Vortian returned the strange look and said,

"No time. Come with us for now. We'll listen to you on our ship. We knocked the Massive over for the perfect invasion opportunity, but we didn't realize the entire Irken race was on this gargantuan thing. Let's get going!" The Vortian grabbed Mara's arm, then moved out of the way for his soldiers to grab Miyuki and Dib. One soldier ripped the unconscious Zim from her arms and carried him out. Miyuki nearly attempted to break free, but a look from Mara told her it was a bad idea. So she went quietly, keeping her eyes on her fallen soldier the entire time. The Vortian and his small band took them carefully towards a light blue sphere in the middle of another abandoned room. But upon entering the room, they ran into more Irkens observing the sphere. The strange band of misfit aliens tore their guns out of their holsters and aimed at the Irkens. The Irkens threw their arms up in response.

"Wait," said one, "we're not the enemy. We're with the . . . My Queen! Are you okay? Have they hurt you?" The Vortian looked at the Irken, then at Mara.

"This is your Queen?"

"No, the tall one is. Please, listen to us. We've been captured by our own people for rebelling against their nefarious ways."

"That's what they said," the Vortian said, pointing behind him at Miyuki, Mara and Dib. The other Irken nodded and said,

"There's more. Some of us escaped from the Armada's soldiers, and already teleported through this sphere. I'm assuming it's yours."

"Yeah. But how can I even begin to believe y–" He was interrupted by voices in the hallway.

"Over here! I think I hear the infidels!"

"Damn! Let's go, people!" The little Irken dived into the sphere, followed by the others. The Vortian growled and pulled Mara into the sphere with him. His crew did the same, dragging Miyuki, Dib and Zim in with them. The sphere curled within itself and disappeared just before the Armada soldiers busted in. They never saw the teleporter, and thus, didn't know how their captives escaped.

Once on board the new ship, Mara forcefully ripped her arm out of the Vortian's grip and asked aggressively,

"Where are we now?" The Vortian, looking a little ruffled by this female, answered dramatically,

"You are aboard the Resisty's ship!" He received what he wanted to believe was stunned silence and admitation, but then Dib asked,

"Wait–does it have, like, an actual title? I thought YOU guys were the 'Resisty', not the ship."

"Um, uh . . . YES! We are the Resisty, and this is our ship! Ha!" Dib shook his head and muttered,

"Moron. Okay, then," he said out loud, "why are we here now? And for God's sake, someone help Zim!" The alien holding a now unconscious Zim said,

"Which one is Zim?"

"The one in your arms! The Tallest tried to deactivate him-please, he's important!"

"Okay," the alien grunted. He walked across the room and placed Zim inside a stasis pod, then locked him inside it. Dib watched carefully for any suspicious moves, but as the pod filled up with a light purple liquid, he heard Miyuki and Mara both sigh with relief.

"Oh, my . . . he's still alive, then . . . " Miyuki smiled softly. Dib gave a puzzled look, then asked,

"What do you mean . . . ?" She answered,

"That reviving goo is universally standard, except, it seems, on earth. If the subject inside is dead, the goo is yellow. If the subject is alive, it's purple. The goo starts clear, then as it encases the subject, it can determine living or dead, depending on the blood flow, heartbeat and pulse of the subject. Fascinating, really." Dib nodded and watched as Zim's body was being rejuvenated. Then he noticed something that didn't seem right.

"Excuse me, Resisty leader?"

"Yes?"

"Why hasn't the ship been moving? The Irkens are really pissed off..." The Vortian took in Dib's words slowly, then, as he began to understand them, he let out an incredible, piercing, awful shriek and yelled,

"Let's get moving! Go! Make the ship go NOW!" Dib, overwhelmed with frustration, smacked himself in the head and yelled,

"Do you have any boosters at all?" Behind him, a very obnoxious voice asked,

"What kinda boosters! The kind for smoothies, or the kind for makin' the ship go really fast!"

"The kind to make the ship go really fast!" Dib shouted back, swinging around to see the new voice. This alien was a floating, lavendar cone. With a face. It also had its tongue sticking out of its mouth. Dib ignored the idiocy of this one alien and yelled to a pilot in the same stupid way the Resisty spoke,

"YOU! Make the ship go fast now! Use a fastness booster!" The pilot nodded, then pushed on a bright orange button that screamed, "ZOOM!" on it. Dib knew right away this was a bad idea. Grabbing Mara and Miyuki, they huddled in a corner and waited for the incredible speed of the Resisty's ship to take off.

ssssscchhhoooooooooooozzzZZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

Dib looked up from the huddle and found that they were all okay. No one had fallen down, no one was dying, nothing was broken. Looking out the window, he saw they were located somewhere above Pluto. The Massive was no where to be found. Breathing a sigh of relief, Dib let go of the females and stood back up and looked around, this time eyeing each and every new specie in the room. He was beyond amazed, and he would have been impressed to see so many different races working together for one noble cause, but their stupidity blocked any respect he would have had for them. Looking over his shoulder, Dib noticed he was also being eyed suspiciously by the Vortian leader of the band of idiots.

"You," the alien snapped at him, "which race do you belong to, anyway?" Dib turned around and answered boldly,

"I'm a human from the planet Earth." Several of the aliens looked at him oddly and discussed him in their own languages, both trepid and threatened by his big head. For many, it was the confidence Dib stood with that worried them, but for others, he was a new specie, and that made him scary.

Miyuki stood up weakly, then fell back down with a painful 'thud'. She held back a cry and tried to get up again, but as she did, Dib saw to his horror, a huge gash in her left leg. She was bleeding, but no one had seemed to notice in the rush to escape. Mara saw it too, and cried,

"My Queen, you're hurt! Stay on the floor–I'll clean the wound for you! Please don't move!" She began to rummage through her PAK for medical supplies. Dib began to wonder just how much junk could be packed inside those little things when a voice behind him cried out,

"HOLY–what happened to Zim!" He turned around only to turn back as Chai ran out of nowhere towards Zim's stasis pod. She was bleeding as well, but she didn't seem to care, or even notice. She was too upset to notice anything at the moment, really. Dib walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. What happened to you? You're bleeding." Chai did not answer him. She just continued to stare at Zim's floating, unconscious body. Dib opened his mouth to say more, but he was interrupted:

"Human, what is your name?" Dib looked over his shoulder at the tiny Vortian standing on a platform above him.

"My name is Dib. What's yours?"

"I'm Lard Nar. Did that Irken female just call your friend 'Zim'?" Dib nodded, annoyed that the name had already been mentioned several times before. The Vortian continued:

"I knew a Zim once. He was a scientist on Vort. We worked together, except he was a bit of nuisance. Is that same guy?" Miyuki answered suddenly,

"Yes. That's him. The one who made the blob that ate me. It was all an act, Lard Nar." Lard Nar snapped his claws and exclaimed,

"I knew it! I thought I recognized you two from somewhere! Zim was the tiniest thing I'd ever seen, but he was capable of such massive destruction. Forgive me for not seeing it earlier. How's your leg?"

"It's better now, thanks to Mara here. Chai? Chai, sweetie, please come over here." Chai didn't respond, so Mara got up off the floor and walked over to her. She placed her hands on Chai's shoulders and began to gently speak in Irken to her. Chai's body went from rigid to relaxed as Mara spoke to her. She allowed Mara to take her hand and lead her over to Miyuki, where she sat down and answered quietly,

"Yes, ma'am?" Miyuki patted Chai's head and said,

"He'll be all right. Don't worry. Right now, I need you to report to me-who else is here?"

"Skoodge, Harmon, Quad, Stolk, the ones over there," she pointed at the small group of Irkens that had come with Miyuki, Mara and Dib, " Tak and her human."

"Tak and Keef?" Dib asked. "How did they get here with the good guys?" Chai answered,

"Simple. Tak and her human had captured me and Skoodge for the Tallest, but we managed to knock them out before anyone saw. Then, while the ship was being knocked over, we fell into the room with the sphere. Several others had escaped as well, so we all decided to take the blue teleporter."

"Of course," Dib said, "that's why you weren't there with us for the execu...um...I mean..."

"Execution? Who was deactivated?" Chai's body went rigid again as her upset expression returned to her face. She didn't even need the answer– her eyes drifted right back to Zim. She screamed this time and ran back to the pod, crying and begging for him to wake up.

"Not yet," said Lard Nar. "He needs a few hours, but he'll be fine." Chai fell to her knees, crying insanely. Dib sat down next to her and let her cry on his shoulder for a while. Mara helped Miyuki back up and said,

"Well, now that we're stuck here, we should go through plans of action with this 'Resisty' group. Lard Nar, what's your next plan?"

"Um . . . plan?"

"You know, what move do you want to take next?" Lard Nar scratched the back of his head and answered meekly,

"We kinda don't have one..."

"What?" Mara's voice was flat and annoyed. She had never encountered such a group of pathetic morons in her life. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Looking at the floor, she said,

"Oooookay . . . so you guys don't have a plan B. That's okay. It's okay. But now we need to MAKE a plan B, so we can get back to our soldiers and perform rescue missions. We also need to disable the Massive entirely, and successfully destroy the current Tallest. Does that make any sense to you?" Lard Nar took in the information slowly, then nodded stupidly.

"Yeah, I get it. So, what do you have in mind?" Mara groaned. It was going to be a really long couple of days.


	19. Do I Need To Kill You?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of it's respective characters.**

**Chapter Nineteen: Do I Need To Kill You?**

"What do you mean, it was the Resisty?"

The little messenger stood only a few feet away from her leaders, cowering in fear as she delivered the bad news. Purple's face went so dark with rage it was almost navy blue. He bent over to grab her little neck, but Red grabbed his co-ruler back up.

"Are you sure?" he asked the little messenger softly. "Was it really those numbskull Resisty freaks?" The little Irken stammered,

"Y-yes, sir . . . It was them all right. We g-got some recordings of them escaping. They apparently had some kind of Vortian boosters. Right now, our technicians are figuring out where they may have ended up." Red kept his cool and said,

"Anything else?"

"Um . . . well, we did roll-call and scans, and so far, Miyuki and Zim are not here, and neither is your secret agent, Tak. Her human slave is missing, too." Purple let out an exasperated sigh.

"Unbe-freakin'-lievable. Any reason why those morons needed to attack now?"

"We don't know, sir." Purple growled in annoyance, then snarled,

"Stupid Resisty . . . Get out of here now, little one, before I snap your neck." The little messenger saluted swiftly, then took off at supersonic speed. Red turned his head to look at his co-ruler and said angrily,

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you keep threatening our soldiers with these senseless deaths? It's not normal." Purple retorted with an even angrier face and hissed,

"Why are you being so calm? Miyuki wants us dead, and she has Zim on her side. He's a raving lunatic, capable of mass destruction in under three minutes. I'm very worried about this. Why aren't you?"

"I'm worried, but I'm not going to threaten innocent people like you keep doing. We won't be able to fix this problem if you're going to be psychotic." Purple bared his teeth at Red, then hissed,

"Do I have to worry about you? Are you in this with them? Do I need to kill you?" Red looked back at his co-ruler with shock and answered,

"No! What is going on in your head, man? Do you have any idea how crazy you've become? Listen to yourself-you're threatening EVERYONE that disagrees with you. You keep making BAD DECISIONS, and everyone knows it!"

In one swift movement, Purple's hands flew at his co-leader, grasping his neck tightly. Red tried to throw him off and call for help, but no one was there. Why they had wanted to be alone, save for the messenger, had been beyond him until this moment. Of course–it was clearer now. Red could see that Purple had gone insane: the once-idiotic ruler had become so paranoid over the return of Lady Miyuki that he saw everyone as a possible threat to the Irken Empire, including his own co-ruler. Red kicked up and felt his knee bash Purple in the chin. Purple let go of Red and flew across the room, his body slamming into the wall and leaving a huge impression.

Purple got back to his feet and gave Red a cold stare, then roared,

"I knew it! You're in on it with them!"

"You're going INSANE!" Red yelled back. "You're completely off your rocker! I want to stop them just as bad as you do-I'm just more SENSIBLE about it!" Purple ran at Red, fury and determination in his eyes, but just as he was about to slam his fist into his co-ruler's stomach, a loud boom and a flash of light from behind had the last say.

Purple collapsed to the ground without a sound. Behind him appeared four soldiers, all sporting tranquilizing energy guns. Red took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said in a shaky voice,

"Please take him to the mental ward. Keep him locked up and in an immobility suit. I don't want him to hurt anyone." The soldiers saluted him, then each lifted their fallen leader and carried him to the mental ward. Red floated quietly over to his chair and looked out over the span of space alone, wondering whether or not his people were going to have a chance at winning the war.

'How did that happen?' He wondered. 'How did Purple, the biggest idiot to ever rule Irk, suddenly become so . . . psychotic? I'm glad to see he's more serious than I judged him to be, but he's too serious. People are going to lose their lives because of his bad decisions. Right now, we all need to stay calm and figure this out. Discovering that Miyuki is alive and well has shocked everyone, but we need to keep it together.'

Red clenched his fists and waved them at the empty void of space around him.

"Miyuki . . . Zim . . . I will find you and I will see to it you are brought to justice."

* * *

"Reviving process complete." Chai jumped up from the floor and waited as the purple goo encasing Zim began to drain. Zim's eyes opened slightly: he looked around his new surroundings, then down at Chai. Giving her a weak smile, he pushed the glass door open and fell out of the pod, landing face-first on the floor in a pool of goo. Chai leaned down to help him up, then asked him,

"Are you going to be okay? I was so worried . . . " Zim continued to smile weakly and answered,

"I'll be fine, beautiful." He gently kissed her forehead, then said,

"Where exactly are we?" He looked up at the large platform above them and noticed Lard Nar sitting quietly.

"Heeey...I know you. You're that Vortian scientist I used to work with. Lard Nar, right?"

"Hmm? Huh? Uh . . . yes! Zim, correct? Your Queen, her scary bodyguardian, the human and I have been devising a new plan to overthrow the Irken Empire. You got any ideas?"

"Well, where are we now?"

"Somewhere above a planet called 'Pluto', according to the human." Zim's eyes flashed.

"Wait-Dib is here? And he's okay?"

"He saved you, Zim," called Mara somewhere on the other side of Lard Nar. "He helped us rescue you and Lady Miyuki."

"Sure thing, little green dude," Dib called jokingly as he jumped up from the floor, apparently sitting next to Mara. He dropped down from the platform gracefully and gently slapped Zim on the back.

"You feeling all right there, Zim?" Zim returned the slap and answered,

"Yeah. So what's the plan so far?"

"We don't have one." Dib lowered his voice. "These idiots are worthless, to be honest." Zim nodded and replied quietly,

"I know. I've worked with a few of them before-not the brightest stars in the sky." Dib grinned, then said out loud to Lard Nar,

"How well are this ship's defenses?" Before he answered, Lard Nar could be heard overhead mumbling and thinking out loud about the question, then answered,

"Uh . . . pretty good."

"How good? What is this thing capable of?"

"It can outrun any ship, especially the Massive. The Massive is a gigantic ship that requires a ton of machinery, wiring and energy. Regardless of being in zero-gravity, it's still pretty heavy. Our weapons are nearly the same. Our previous ship needed to be destroyed via self-destruction, but this one is nearly the same. Same design, same . . . um . . . same color! Same...builders..."

Dib closed his eyes and stopped himself from slapping his own forehead. When Lard Nar was finished giving useless facts on his ship, Dib opened his eyes again and said,

"Can the weapons on your ship disable the Massive? When you say the same, do you really mean the same? I already know the Vortians were the key technicians, builders and engineers for the Irkens before they were enslaved, so help me out: Is this ship almost equal to the Massive?"

"Yeah."

"Does it need any kind of improvement?"

"Um . . . the laser guns need to be revamped. So does the lock-on-target feature." Dib sighed and began to wonder if he was stuck in a really horrible video game.

"Okay," he said in a slightly exasperated voice, "could we possibly land on a life-sustaining, friendly planet that we can make the necessary adjustments to the ship on? We kind of want to have the upper hand here." Somewhere above him, the cone-bodied alien exclaimed,

"YEE-HAW! We goin' to Skeenz!"

"'Skeenz'?" Dib asked as he tried to search for the cone. The cone answered somewhere off the to the right,

"It's a planet that does ships-of-war stuff. I gots friends there! Let's GO!" The pilot of the Resisty's ship obviously heard him, because the ship shifted dramatically and knocked everyone to the ground. Everyone who wasn't wearing a seatbelt was piled into one end of the ships' control room.

"Owww...Everyone okay?" Zim mumbled somewhere at the bottom of the pile. Dib pushed himself up off of Chai and answered,

"I think so . . . where's Miyuki?"

"Up here, dear." The all looked up and saw Miyuki and her spider-legs clinging to a pipe on the ceiling. She smiled and gestured over at the pilot. It was obvious she thought he was a horrible pilot. She dropped down safely and began to help everyone up.

"What the HELL! WHERE AM I?"

Miyuki looked over her shoulder to see a now-awake, infuriated Tak standing tensely with a dark, evil look in her eyes. Dib helped Zim off the floor, then said,

"What should we do with her?" Zim growled and answered,

"Tak, you've cost us more problems than anyone in the universe ever could. It's time you paid for your actions."

"What, you want to deactivate me? Please. You know what I'm capable of-don't you remember?" She gave Zim a cold, seductive smile, reminding Zim of the pain she had put him through only hours ago.

"Of course I do. And that's why you need to die. I'm not taking the risk of you hurting anyone else." Tak stared him in the eye, then laughed loudly.

"Oh, stop. You're all talk, Zim. You couldn't protect anyone here even if you were paid to do it. You're worthless. I was able to cut, scratch and bite you without so much as a struggle. I can kill everyone in this room no problem."

"What!" Chai yelled angrily. "You abused him? You sick GASQUIGASPLORCH!" And with that, Chai bolted over to Tak to snap her neck, but she wasn't thinking about what she was doing. In a matter of seconds, Tak jumped over Chai, flipped herself around and threw one arm around Chai's neck. Tak pulled a gun to her attacker's head, then whipped back around to face everyone and said very quietly,

"All of you will bow down to the Tallest. Get on your knees and beg for mercy. YOU!" She yelled at the pilot, "take us back to the Irken Massive. Disregard my words and I'll pump anti-matter into this little maverick's head. Understood?" The pilot nodded and began to turn the ship around sharply before Tak added,

"Don't go too fast. My extra appendages have penetrated the floor and are adhered to several thick wires below me. I'll still be standing and ready to shoot this little girl if you do so." The pilot slowed down and turned the ship around carefully.

Zim's fists were clenched in rage. He was breathing so hard it made everyone else feel breathless. Miyuki also stood with anger burning in her blue eyes.

"How dare you," she hissed at Tak, "how dare you threaten one of your own?"

"Ah! You mean two. I did something similar to this to Zim, oh great fallen monarch. Chai will die if we do not return to the Massive, and when we DO return, she will be presented to the Tallest as a 'gift'." She smirked at the last word. Zim felt his face getting hot as his rage was raised to a boiling point. He wanted to beat the living life out of Tak so badly.

"Don't you dare," he hissed. "Don't you give my Chai away to that sick pervert. I know what Purple wants her for, and I won't allow it." Tak giggled.

"Zim, don't try. I-" She was interrupted.

"Tak, please." She looked around for whoever interrupted her, then said with annoyance,

"Who-? Oh, you. The Dib-thing. Go on, say what you will." Dib sighed, then said,

"Tak, listen. You don't understand love yet. You don't know how it feels to have someone to care about you, or someone who wants to be with you." Tak interrupted him this time.

"The last time I checked, neither did you, you loser." Dib bit his lip, ignored her harsh words and continued.

"You can have someone if you just embrace Lady Miyuki's teachings. You want to be an Invader, and I understand that, I do. It's a high rank that earns the utmost Irken respect, right? It makes sense. But think about it: once you become an Invader, your life is over. You have to do the biding of your Tallest, live up to their expectations and the expectations of your fellow Invaders, work 24-7, and never find true happiness. Do you really want such a dark life?"

Tak was silent– she was actually considering what Dib had said.

"But . . . no! Becoming an Invader is everything I've ever wanted! Don't you try to take my goals away from me, you freak!" She tore the gun away from Chai's head and shot at Dib. He moved away swiftly, but the anti-matter wave busted a hole in the ship's wall, deteriorating the ship slowly.

"Damn," she whispered. Placing the smoking gun back in its holster, Tak hit Chai in the head, knocking her out cold, then scooped her into her arms.

"Good luck making it out of here alive! Oh! And bring my human with you, won't you?" she shrieked gleefully. A sudden flash of white light, and they were gone.

"CHAI!" Zim screamed at the white light. "NO! COME BACK! PLEASE COME BACK! NO! CHAI!"

He collapsed to his hands and knees, sobbing uncontrollably. He pounded the floor and swore at the top of his lungs, as though profanities alone could bring Chai back to him. No one, not even Miyuki, came near him. After several minutes of Zim's anger rushing out like a raging river, he looked up in the same spot where Tak and his loved one disappeared and growled,

"That's it, Tak. That's the last straw. You've given me no other choice. I'm going to torture you until you kill yourself. We're going to the Massive!"

* * *

Okay, first things first: my internet connection here sucks. So I don't really know what the cone-shaped Resisty guy is really called. If someone would be so kind as to tell me so that I can fix it, please do, because I know it's not "Skeenite". Second, I started a new fic, but I may not post it. If I do, no flames. It was side project because I was getting bored. 


	20. Hostage Situation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. Mara is property of Moonlight the Hedgehog.**

**Chapter Twenty: Hostage Situation**

"Well? How do we get off this thing?" Dib was getting very impatient with Lard Nar. The Vortian was completely incapable of thought. Dib stood with his arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed as he waited for any kind of response, until...

"Escape pods. LET'S GO!" Lard Nar jumped down from his platform and led the big group of Irkens and other assorted races to the escape pod unit. They could fit three people to each pod. Zim, Dib and Mara got into one, while Miyuki got in with Lard Nar and another Irken. Keef's unconscious body was placed in one with Resisty members. None of the pods waited for others to be prepared: once they were safely strapped in, they left the ship and went in the direction of the Massive.

On the way there, Zim remained disturbingly quiet. He looked and spoke to no one. His head rested on his hand as he gazed angrily into space. Dib and Mara knew better than to try to make him feel better– he was too upset to listen. So instead, Mara took a deep breath and asked gently,

"Zim? What exactly did Tak do to you?" He closed his eyes and answered,

"Exactly what she said she did. She cut, scratched and bit me."

"When? Are you okay?"

"Yes. It happened a little while ago, when I was alone in the conference room trying to get my thoughts together. She made some threats and now she's carrying them out, even though we made a de . . . never mind."

"What kind of deal?" Dib was obviously interested. Zim shrugged and answered,

"Nothing."

"Tell us, Zim. We all need to rely and trust one another." Mara was being aggressive now. She waited for an answer, and when she didn't get one, she leaned over Dib and grabbed Zim's shoulder. Turning him around just enough to see his face and his injuries, she examined the damage, then said,

"Why didn't you tell anyone? Tak is dangerous. We could have stopped this from happening. What deal did you two make?" Zim was silent, then answered in an exasperated tone,

"...Fine. She wanted me to return Keef to her. If I obeyed, she wouldn't hurt anyone. If I denied, she would kill someone every few days, starting with my loved ones. I couldn't do that. I had no choice but to give her Keef, which I did. While she was threatening me, she was hurting me, probably just to get her point across and scare me. She's even made some improvements with her PAK. Her extra appendages are sharper now, that much I know. I'm not sure about anything else, though. I'm still looking. But yeah. I don't care what she did to me– I'm worried about Chai and if she's going to be abused even worse. I'm scared I might lose her permanently." He looked away and tried to hide his tears, but Dib cut in and said in a reassuring voice,

"Zim, it's going to be okay. Chai is still alive, and I'm sure she hasn't been hurt. Tak is also trying to get to the Massive. I doubt she just teleported there– she's gotta be traveling the same way we are. There's no time for her to hurt Chai while she's piloting a ship. Besides, she's offer– um . . . she's . . . presenting Chai as a so-called 'gift' to those idiots. She won't hurt Chai."

Zim nodded slightly, then went back to his quiet gaze outside, worrying himself sick over what could possibly be happening to the woman he loved.

* * *

**Meanwhile, aboard another Vortian escape pod...**

SMACK.

"Argh!"

"Awake, huh? Took you long enough. Little bitch, embracing these crazy ideas of 'love' and 'family'. Garbage, Chai. You've been brainwashed by that Miyuki. And Zim. He doesn't love you– he just thinks he does."

"Ugh . . . stop it. Just because you're incapable of–"

SMACK.

"Gah!"

"Stop talking. You're making me feel homicidal. You, beautiful, are Irken, regardless of whether or not you want to be. So listen carefully: you're coming home and rejoining your fellow Irkens as an Invader. And if not an Invader, then as a gift to my Tallest. Choose anything else, well, I think you can guess the consequences yourself. Make your decision now." Chai spat at Tak and hissed,

"Why should I?" Tak leaned in close so that their faces nearly touched,

"Because if you don't, I'll kill Zim right in front of you. I'll record it and place an untraceable chip disc in your PAK so that you'll have to re-live it again and again and again. Would you like that?"

"I hate you."

"Wonderful! Where would you like his deactivation to take place?

"Fuck you."

"Not my job, sweetheart. You'll have to wait until I give you to the Tallest." Tak's hand smashed into Chai's cheek again. The kidnaped Irken spat a bloody tooth out and hissed,

"You disgust me. You're close-minded, self-centered, evil and completely insane. You don't know what you're doing, Tak." Tak crossed her arms and listened on as Chai continued to rant about her evil personality, until she had enough. Whipping out her spider-legs, she brought one around to swiftly catch Chai's chin. It dug itself into her skin-deep and no further. Chai became incredibly still. Her eyes were wide and filled with hate as Tak whispered,

"If you do not choose the right path, you will regret it, my darling little traitor. I will kill the man you love, and I will kill the Queen you love. I will kill the human, I will kill the mavericks. I will kill the mismatched, doomed resistance headed by that incompetent Vortian, and I will kill anyone else that dares threaten the Irken Empire. Make your choice, and choose wisely."

The sharpened spider-leg cut into Chai's chin a little deeper, causing her to cry out in pain. In her heart, she knew she wanted to defy the evil woman in front of her to prove she wasn't scared, but her logic told her to make the choice that would save the people she loved. Of course, there was no way of telling when Tak was lying or being truthful. But at this critical moment, Chai didn't care. All that mattered was protecting the ones she loved.

"I . . . I choose to . . . to . . . be presented as a gift to the Tallest."

"_THE_ Tallest?" Tak asked, emphasizing the word 'the'. Chai sighed and repeated,

"_MY_ Tallest." Tak grinned at her little victory over Chai's pride, then retracted the dangerous spider-legs back into her PAK. A very tiny bit of blood dripped from Chai's wound, but it was minuscule. Tak returned to the controls of the Vortian escape pod she had stolen off the Resisty's ship. It would be a while before they arrived to their destination, but the journey would still be enjoyable. As long as Tak had someone to abuse, she would be able to travel easy, no problem. She gave the controls and the route a good look, and, after determining everything was under control, turned back to Chai and began to beat her harshly without warning.

Chai refused to scream for the first ten minutes, but very soon, her will of steel was broken, and she gave in to the awful pain. Every slash, bite, punch and kick broke her spirit and her hope that she would make it back to Zim and Miyuki alive. She tried hard to focus her thoughts on Zim to drown out the pain, but try as she might, his face kept melting away from her mind as Tak's blows became more brutal. A sudden crack told Chai something had been broken, but she was in so much pain she couldn't tell what.

Finally, as Zim's face disappeared for the last time, Chai passed out, falling over from her place on the floor into a small puddle of her own blood that had accumulated during the beating. Her skin was bruised and bloody, and Tak seemed to find it amusing. Kicking Chai's unconscious head one last time, she laughed loudly and said to the passed out Irken,

"When your hero comes to rescue you, little damsel, he will be the first to die."

* * *

Sorry it took so long to update, but school's been keeping me busy. Anyway, hoped you liked this incredibly short chapter! 


	21. Behavior

**Disclaimer: I do nto own Invader Zim or any of its respective characters. Mara is the property of Moonlight the Hedgehog.**

**Well, back again. This chapter is violent, so you've been warned. It's also o bit sappy, so please don't get angry with me. I think the story needed a bit of it, but it will never get out of hand or take over the real story. So please, no flames, review maturely and as always, stay safe.**

**-Juana**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Behavior**

"Reporting in, my Tallest."

"Tak? When did you escape?" After Chai had passed out, Tak proceeded to call the Tallest, finding only Red in charge, and let him know how things were going. She wanted to ask where his co-ruler was, but upon seeing bruises and cuts on his body, thought it better to just continue with her report. Red was still dealing with his ship's sudden 'capsizing' and the many injured soldiers that needed medical attention, as well as with Purple's being institutionalized. But he listened intently to Tak's every word, and Tak enjoyed every second of the attention.

"The traitors are on their way to rescue my newest hostage. I think Tallest Purple will find her to be a rare find and a big surprise."

"Are you saying you have–"

"Yes, sir. She's knocked out right now, but she has already agreed to give herself up to save her worthless comrades. No doubt they'll be here in a few days to rescue her. Soon, you will have Chai, as well as Miyuki, Zim and their miserable human creature."

"Well done, Tak!" Red applauded. "You've earned your right to become an Invader. Once you arrive home, we'll properly commence your new place in Irken society. You've done many great and dangerous deeds for your people. Well done, soldier!" He saluted her, a rare gesture of respect on any Tallest leaders' part. Tak saluted back with a small grin, then said,

"Invader Tak, signing off." She cut the transmission, stared at the blank screen for a few seconds, then screamed at the top of her lungs, cheering for herself and her great achievements. She was so excited and happy that she failed to notice several more pods surrounding her own.

Inside a pod to her ship's far left, Zim barked orders to the other pods, demanding that all pods be piloted by only the Irkens who had escaped from the Massive onto the Resisty, and that no one else from the Resisty attempt to help in any way. Then, he ordered all pods to surround Tak's ship discreetly and stay away from her line of vision.

"Skoodge, I want you to attack from below. Hit Tak's ship and try to immobilize it. If you can, ensnare it somehow. Dib and I are going in to get Chai. Everyone else, keep Tak surrounded. If she tries to escape, knock into her ship to slow her down. But I want her alive."

"Yes, sir!" all ships chorused back. Zim nodded, then said to Dib,

"Let's go."

They had changed quickly into Irken space suits Zim and Mara had found in their PAKs. They would remain unharmed by anything the cold void outside threatened them with. Once Zim activated the internal/external breathing regulators that resembled clear balloons, he and Dib exited the pod through an escape hatch, leaving Mara to pilot the pod. The two stood on top of the pod, watching Tak's ship carefully for any sudden movements. Zim looked down at Skoodge's pod, then signaled for him to hit Tak's pod. Skoodge nodded and performed the order.

WHAM.

"Argh!" Tak screamed as she was thrown to the small floor, "What the . . . oh, of course. You little freaks think you can scare me, do ya? Too bad."

She threw the controls into hyper drive, then screamed again as her ship crashed into several more pods. Looking out her windshield, she was shocked to see so many pods surrounding just the front of her ship. She was smart enough to know there were ships behind her as well, but she was desperate enough to attempt to escape again. She smashed her ship backwards into the crowd behind her, but still did not succeed in her escape. She was about to try once more, but before she had the chance, several mechanical tentacles wrapped around her ship and kept her trapped in midair.

She tried everything she could to break free, but above her, a clanging beat against the roof until the top escape door opened quickly. Tak grabbed Chai's unconscious body and threw her behind the pilot seat where she would be unseen. Moments later, Zim and Dib jumped in and slammed the door down.

"Oh," whimpered Tak sarcastically, throwing one arm over her forehead, "I've been beaten by the best! Here to rescue your little princess, oh Great Hero?" Zim scowled at her and said,

"We're taking Chai. Where is she?" Tak shrugged and answered irritably,

"I dunno. Where do you think she is?"

"Tak, I'm not kidding around with you. If you don't return her to us, I will kill you right here. I don't want to do any such thing." Tak beamed with pride as she suddenly said,

"Maybe I tossed her little body out already. She could be dead, and there's nothing, not even a little hero like you, can do about it."

"Shut up. Where is Chai?"

"I see her behind that chair, Zim," Dib pointed out. Tak's smile left her and was replaced by an ugly, awful grimace. She ripped a control out of its place and threw it in Dib's direction, hoping to knock him in the head and kill him. But, to hers and Zim's surprise, he caught the control without even flinching.

"Years of being abused by classmates," he said with a smile. He threw the control back at Tak, who caught it and said,

"Not bad, filthy Earth demon. But guess what: you're a loser on Earth, and you're a loser in space. Why don't you just go kill yourself already and rid the universe of your...your...LOSER-NESS!"

"Oh, shut up already, Tak." Without any kind of warning at all, Dib ran at her and kicked her in the stomach, then punched her in the face. She went down with a scream, blood oozing from her new wounds. Zim walked calmly over to Chai and helped her up to her feet. When Chai fell to her feet without even a cry, Zim pet her head and asked if she was okay.

No answer.

"Chai?"

No answer again.

"Chai!? CHAI!" Zim swung around to Tak and screamed,

"What did you do to her!? Why isn't she answering me!?" Tak coughed up some blood, then answered hoarsely,

"What does it look like I did? I beat the crap outta her. Bad enough to knock her out a second time. I did a good job, I fi do say so myself." Zim's whole body went numb. He trembled as he processed the words: such a blunt answer, so cold, so heartless . . . . Tak meant every word.

Zim's promise to Miyuki to never use violence as a means to solve problems was broken as he began to beat the hell out of Tak. He hit, kicked, bit and even strangled her for a good three minutes before Dib was finally able to wrestle him off. Zim had managed to make Tak pass out, but she was nowhere near as hurt as Chai was.

"ZIM!" Dib yelled, "This is not how we solve anything. Let's take them both and we'll deal with Tak later. Chai needs medical attention, NOW."

But Zim was so bent on destroying Tak that he barely heard Dib. His claws dug deep into Dib's shoulders as he tried in vain to break free, but Dib was stronger than he looked. He looked the Irken in the eyes and repeated himself:

"Zim, Chai needs medical attention. She needs you to help her. Chai will DIE if you don't rescue her now and give her what she needs. Do you hear me, Zim?" Zim did not hear him. Instead, he continued to struggle until Dib took real action and slapped Zim across the face. It seemed to bring him back to reality.

"Ugh . . . what?"

"CHAI needs YOU, Zim. Help her before she dies." Zim pulled his claws out of Dib's shoulders and whispered,

"Oh, God . . . I'm acting like a crazy person. What about Tak?"

"We'll take her with us. Just grab Chai and let's go." Zim nodded, then said into his portable communicator,

"Mara, I need you to come to Tak's ship and be prepared to let us in quickly. We have Chai and Tak, both unconscious."

"Yes, sir." Mara maneuvered her ship directly above Tak's, hovering upside down to allow Zim and Dib to safely bring Chai and Tak in without suffocating them. The guys brought in both girls quickly and placed them on the floor, where Zim examined Chai's body for any important concerns. He was infuriated that Tak had beaten her so badly, as Chai's body was indeed severely damaged.

Zim suddenly growled as he discovered a broken bone in Chai's leg. He nearly attacked the unconscious Tak, but Dib threw his arms around the angry Irken and restrained him as best he could. Zim tried to fight Dib off, but it was in vain. Dib spoke to Zim, trying to tell him there were more pressing matters, like getting Chai to a healing unit right away. Zim calmed down and went back to Chai, who seemed to be almost dead. Her breathing was shallow, her eyelids were darkened over, her skin was a pale greyish-green, and her entire body was limp. Her once-beautiful and bright face now wore a dead, empty expression of pain and grief.

Zim held her sleeping body close to his and hugged her for the remainder of the trip. Mara communicated with the other pods and soon they reached the planet that would help them.

* * *

"Planet Skeenz," Mara muttered under her breath. Dib looked at her and asked,

"What's wrong with Skeenz?"

"It's a planet of those cone-heads, the Skeenites. They're idiots. The only reason the Irken Empire hasn't destroyed them yet is because they don't see them as a threat. These people are loud, obnoxious and really stupid. But, they're friendly and will help us. So I guess it's not all that bad."

The several pods all landed on the planet Skeenz. As soon as they did so, a group of Skeenites floated cautiously over and eyed the newcomers. Miyuki stepped out of her pod and greeted the paranoid Skeenites brightly.

"Hello," she said, "My name is Miyuki. We are a band of anti-Irken soldiers, and we are in great need of your assistance. One of our soldiers has been injured badly. Can you help us, good people?" The Skeenites huddled and discussed the request, occasionally looking over at Miyuki. Just as they were about to give a negative answer to the request, the irritating Skeenite from the Resisty popped out of nowhere and yelled,

"HIYA, GUYS!" Taken back by surprise, the other Skeenites gave their comrade a quizzical look. He quickly explained the predicament, and very soon, the entire mismatched group was being led to a hospital. They were taken to a large room filled with clear stasis pods that loomed several feet above them. Chai was placed inside one quickly, and to everyone's relief, filled up with purple healing liquid. Zim stood close to the pod and watched her carefully. No one disturbed him.

As he watched, Dib felt his stomach growl. He tried to hide it, but Mara, who was standing right next to him, smiled and whispered,

"Me, too. Let's go see what we can find. Then we can get to work on the crappy flying pods we have now." Dib nodded, and off they went. They traveled down a long, lavender hallway, empty but full at the same time. No Skeenites hung around the area, but there were tons of very stupid pictures on the walls, like crayon drawings done by infants.

"Don't tell me the full-grown Skeenites did these," Dib laughed. Mara laughed too and said,

"Most likely. They aren't all that bright." Dib smiled and they continued on, until they found a small group of Skeenites eating in a huge cafeteria, not too different from the one at Dib's skool. They grabbed some snacks and drinks and sat down, where they ate quietly. Dib felt much better now-he had been getting light-headed and weak from lack of food. They watched the other Skeenites eating but slamming their cone-heads into their trays of food, then laughing like idiots. Dib and Mara found themselves hurting as they tried to avoid laughing at the stupid aliens. When they were done, they cleaned up their garbage and left the cafeteria, back into the empty hallways.

As they walked, Mara kept looking around, as though she thought someone was following her. Dib noticed, and found himself looking around as well. When he plainly saw that there was no threat, he asked Mara what was wrong. She looked away from him and stammered nervously,

"Dib, I wanted to know . . . how– how do humans . . . express love?" Dib wasn't surprised by the question. Something had told him Mara liked him. He answered easily,

"I don't know. I've never really been loved by anyone."

"Surely someone loved you?"

"No, no one did. Not at skool, not at home, no one."

"Then what have you observed humans to do when they want to express love?"

"Hugging, kissing, holding hands . . . stuff I've seen Zim and Chai do occasionally. Why?" Mara blushed dark green and answered,

"I think I want to express love with you, to be honest. Is that strange?"

"No. I think it's brave. You're very brave, Mara. And I find you very beautiful." Mara's face lit up.

"Really? I've never heard that word used to describe me . . . I've been called strong, brave, and intense, but never beautiful . . . Say it again!"

"You're beautiful, Mara."

She threw her arms around him tightly and let herself cry happily. Dib hugged back and felt something he had never felt before. This feeling in his chest that was so warm and tense, yet so wonderful at the same time. The warmth went through his bloodstream, through his arms, and into his face, where he let himself smile the biggest smile he had ever known. Was this what love felt like? Was love always this wonderful, like the movies always portrayed to the masses? He felt he would never be sad again, and he never wanted it to end. Mara was feeling almost the same way– her heart was still blocked from pure emotion thanks to Irken genetic engineering, but she was so happy to understand that she could still find a reason to want this person near her.

They remained in their embrace for what felt like hours when they heard footsteps coming near them quickly. Letting go, they began to walk back to the rest of their party when they ran into Skoodge, who was also looking for something to eat. They pointed him in the cafeteria's direction, then continued walking at a quick pace. Both were smiling widely, blushing and feeling weightless as they continued their walk down the sterile-looking hallway. Dib had always disliked sappy love stories in movies and books, but now that he was experiencing one himself, he understood why people loved them so.

They re-entered the stasis-pod room and saw Chai was still healing in her tank. Zim continued to sit on the floor alone, while Miyuki and Lard Nar were discussing plans with the other Irkens and Resisty members. Dib and Mara joined them.

"Anything yet?" asked Mara with a smile, which she was having a very hard time trying to repress. Miyuki noted the happy tone in her voice and looked over.

"Why are you smiling like that?" There was no judgement in her voice.

"Oh, nothing," Mara lied. "Nothing." Her eyes darted over to Dib, who couldn't really tell she was looking at him. Miyuki understood right away and smiled slightly.

"I'm glad 'nothing' has made you happy. I hope you make 'nothing' happy as well." Mara successfully held back a giggle, then said,

"So, plan. What are we doing with Tak?"

"Well," said Lard Nar, "We have the Tak beast and her human, Keef. We want to use them as hostages for the Irken empire. If they care about getting them back, they'll have to let us in. If they don't care, then maybe it will help to finally open the female Irken's eyes."

"Sounds decent. When are we planning on doing this?"

"As soon as Chai is healed. I want her to see the victory," Miyuki said. Mara nodded, then asked quietly,

"How is she so far?"

"She'll be fine. Tak may have hurt her badly, but she has a will of steel. It's Zim I'm worried about. He's enduring a lot of pain, both emotional and physical." Dib looked over at Zim, then walked away from the group to sit with him.

"Hey, Zim," he said softly as he sat down next to the quiet, sad Irken. Zim didn't seem to notice him.

"She's going to be okay, Zim. She's strong. She wants to come back to you, and she will."

Silence. They listened to the soft whirring of the stasis pod and observed the slow bobbing of Chai's body as she floated in the purple goo. Dib heard Zim's hard, worried breathing as they watched with anticipation. As they sat there, while Miyuki and Mara went through ideas, while the Resisty hung around, a Skeenite ran into the room and said,

"Hey, there's, like, this alien here that wants to see the ones known as Zim and Dib . . . he's got orange stuff on his head that's real stringy. I likes it!" Zim turned his head around and said,

"It's Keef. He wants us," indicating himself and Dib, " Show us where he is." The Skeenite nodded flamboyantly and had Zim follow him to a holding cell, where Keef was being held separately from Tak. Zim stepped in front of Keef's cell with a look of power and said,

"What do you want, Keef-thing?" Keef jumped off the floor and threw his hands through the bars.

"What's going on, Zim? Where are we? Where's Tak?"

"Tak is being held in a separate cell for her crimes. She's under arrest for assault. She's not returning to you anytime soon. Her PAK has been disabled." Keef's face was getting weary. He looked at Dib and pleaded,

"Dib, you gotta get me outta here, buddy, pal. You understand, right? HELP ME!" He tried to grab Dib's arm, but seeing as Dib was several feet away from the cell, Keef was making a fool of himself. Dib rolled his eyes and said,

"Keef, you got yourself into this madness. I can't help you. I'm on Zim's side, the opposite of you and Tak."

"Then let me join you guys! I never wanted to hurt Zim, I swear it!" Zim nodded and said,

"I know you didn't, but I still got hurt, as well as the people I love. It doesn't matter whether or not you did something to me or them personally, it's the fact that you are considered to be in cahoots with Tak and the Irken Empire. We can't help you. We'll do all we can to get you home, but right now, you're a prisoner of war, Keef. Just relax and wait for something to happen." With that, Zim grabbed Dib's arm and pulled him out of the prison ward and back to Chai.

Keef watched with huge, teary eyes before he slammed his fists into the floor.

"Damn you, Zim. Damn you, Dib . . . just you wait, you sons-of-bitches . . . Just you wait."

* * *

**Please Review!**


	22. Disturbances in the Grand Scheme of

**Hi Everyone! I know, I know, it took me nearly a YEAR to update! School takes a huge chunk of time out of life, hey? But now I am back, and I have not one, not two, but THREE new chapters for you. We'll kick things off with this one, and then the end of the story is just a few chapters away. Enjoy, and please review!**

**-Juana**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Disturbances in the Grand Scheme of Things**

It was several hours later. Tak woke up and found herself in a small, isolated room, with no windows and a very small door with an even smaller opening for food. She gave her new surroundings a nasty look, then started to search for a way out. Upon calling upon her PAK to help her out, she was shocked to find that nothing worked. She was defenseless now. Staying as calm as she could, she sat back down and went over everything she remembered. She knew she had kidnapped Chai, and that defective little Zim had come to her rescue, along with his human, but what happened to lead to her imprisonment?

She looked around again, still trying to find some way out of her cell. She could see several monitoring cameras that she knew were motion-sensitive, so someone knew she was conscious again. She needed to lay low and keep quiet if she wanted to make it out of here alive. She didn't know where she was: the Resisty's ship, Irk, Earth, some other obscure place. . . who knew? She took a deep breath and thought about her next plan, which she was finding to be a difficult task, seeing as she had no resources or PAK to help her anymore.

'Just great,' she thought. 'Stuck here, no functioning PAK, cameras everywhere . . . Chai had better be dead." And then, she was struck with a flashback of being beaten down until everything went black. She remembered Zim and Dib coming to Chai's rescue, and of course, the wonderfully wicked things she'd said to them. She remembered Dib standing up to her and hitting her twice. He had made her bleed, if she recalled correctly. She would make them pay . . . oh, how they would pay! No one messed with an Invader and lived to tell the tale.

'That little piece of garbage,' she thought to herself. 'That worthless, ugly freak! How dare he attack a being of supreme superiority? He will be executed for this. And Zim…he should know better than to meddle in my plans! Worthless, useless, stupid, love-stricken, idi-'

Tak stopped her silent rant as something jolted her heart. Thinking about the love Zim and Chai shared, the love Miyuki shared with her children—was it really all that amazing? Was Dib right about being a slave to a pair of tyrants?

And it hit her—Tak was in love with someone. It felt odd. It felt disgusting. Her body was jittery as she thought about the one she loved, and she knew what she wanted to do. She had to rid herself of the love and the feelings, and most of all, the person she felt love for.

* * *

"REGENERATING THING COMPLETE!" yelled the stasis pod happily. Everyone jumped out of their skins and watched as Zim nearly skidded and slammed into the pod to help Chai get out. She took a few steps, looked around and said,

"Where am I?"

"It's okay, Chai. You're on planet Skeenz." Chai gave him a strange look, then said,

"Who are you?" Zim gasped, while everyone else dropped their jaws. Chai looked at everyone and asked,

"Who are you people? What am I doing here? And how do you know my name?"

"Chai," Zim choked, "I'm Zim. Your lover. Don't you remember what happened to you, do you remember what Tak did to you? The Irken resistance? Miyuki? Skoodge? Dib? Mara? Anyone?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Zim," answered Chai. "I only remember my name. What resistance are you talking about?"

"Our people are fighting to free our planet from oppression and the Tallest. You were kidnapped and beaten by Tak…she must have hit you pretty hard to make you lose your memories…"

"I got beaten? Like in the head?"

"Well, yeah," Zim shrugged. He paused, then said,

"You really can't remember? Nothing? No one in here is familiar?"

"I'm afraid not. Maybe it'll come to me later."

"I hope so…." Zim took a deep breath, then walked over to Shloonktapooxis and said,

"Do you have a bathroom around here?"

"YEAH!! Down the hall." Zim thanked him quietly and walked out the door. Two minutes later, he could be heard screaming profanities and curses at Tak. Everyone looked at each other nervously, including Chai, who looked very upset. Mara walked over to her said,

"Hi, Chai. I'm Mara, do you remember me?" Chai shook her head.

"That's okay. I want you to know that Zim is not mad at you, he's mad at Tak. Tak is an Irken, like you and me, who doesn't want freedom for our people. She wants us to be slaves to the Irken machine, to conform to Irken standards. She kidnapped you and beat you until you passed out, which is why you lost your memory. Zim loves you, and he's upset that Tak took a part of you away. It's not your fault."

"I know it isn't."

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure you knew. Go sit down and try to think things over, see if there's anything you can remember or if anything is nagging at you." Chai obeyed, sitting on the floor and trying to think of anything she could.

Several minutes later, Zim returned with the angriest, most pissed off face any of them had ever seen. He walked slowly over to Miyuki and hissed,

"I am going to kill her." Predictably, Miyuki answered,

"No, you are not. Calm yourself."

"No. I want to kill her, and I am going to do it. Right now. Where is she?"

"Zim, no. We need her. If you want to bring justice to Chai, we need Tak to confess her crimes."

"Where is she?"

"Stop it."

"Where is she, Miyuki? Tell me where to kill her."

"Zim?" Everyone looked over at Chai, who had stood up and was looking at him very sadly.

"Zim, if she really made me lose my memory, then I want to see her. I want to meet her and talk to her. I want to know why she did what she did. If you kill her, I won't have all the answers I need."

Zim closed his eyes and forced himself to relax.

"…All right. If you don't want me to hurt her, then I won't."

"Thank you, Zim."

"Hmm." Miyuki sighed a breath of relief, then said,

"All right, back to work, everyone. Let's get ourselves a ship, shall we?" Everyone returned to work, trying to make sense of anyone from the Resisty. Miyuki and Mara began to make calls to other races they had employed earlier to their cause. Zim, too upset to do anything, left the room to go for a walk. Miyuki noticed and placed her hand on Dib's shoulder.

"Sweetie, go keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't do anything he'd regret later. Talk to him if you can."

"Yes, ma'am." Dib took off after Zim at a quick pace, but not so quick as to alarm him.

"Hey, Zim."

"I need to be alone right now," Zim hissed. Dib answered,

"I know you do. And I'm really sorry you're stuck with me." Zim smiled very slightly, then said,

"You win. But I'm not going to do anything. No looking for Tak, no violence, nothing. I'm just very pissed off right now."

"I know you are. But I don't want to leave you alone."

"Yes, I understand your concern. Let's be silent for a while. I just want to think right now."

"Okay."

They walked along the long hallways, looking at the Skeenite art and then at each other looks of disbelief that any race could produce such crap. They listened to Skeenite conversations, machines whirring away, and at one point, they walked past Keef's cell, who yelled,

"LET ME OUTTA HERE!"

They shook their heads and continued a while until Zim suddenly stopped. He sniffed at the air, then hissed,

"Tak." Dib looked alarmed.

"She's around here? Zim, don't do anything stu—"

"Quiet, human! I won't kill her, I just want to talk to her. TAK!"

"Right here, O great hero," Tak called back. Zim stormed over to her cell and growled through the bars,

"Why don't you have any security watching you?"

"Have you forgotten where we are? Skeenites are idiots, hero."

". . . I'm not a hero. I couldn't save Chai from her fate."

"Is she dead? Did I kill her like I wanted?" For a second, Zim contemplated telling her the truth, then lied,

"You did. Chai is dead. And it's all your fault, Tak. I hate you with a passion."

"I know you do," Tak answered happily. "Is that loser with you?"

"Fuck you, Tak," replied Dib. Tak laughed and said happily,

"Regardless, Mighty Hero and Pathetic Loser, I am happy with my accomplishments. The Tallest will track me down, and when they do, you will be taken away and executed, the way it was all meant to be before those resistance idiots messed everything up."

"Thanks to the Resisty, we were able to capture you, Tak." Then he sighed and said,

"Why don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

"The pain you've inflicted on people. The idea of freedom. We want to free all Irkens, including you. I don't understand why you don't understand that. Is normal Irken programming really that good at repressing individual thoughts?"

Tak was silent. Zim figured she was simply coming up with a nasty, hurtful comment, but was shocked when she answered softly,

"Zim, why can't YOU understand that this is what I want? I want to be an Invader, I want to be well-known, feared…I want RESPECT, just like you. We want something passionately, but what we want is very different. The only way to settle this is through fighting over it. My side of the Irken race is stubborn. We won't listen, no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you listen to our side, we will not hear yours."

There was a faint silence in the air. Laughing Skeenites could be heard in a far distant arcade, the whirring of machines were the only thing barely audible in the thick silence. Zim stared at Tak's cell, Dib looked around the hall, and Tak sighed, actually feeling pretty low. There was only one thing she could do to feel better.

"Zim?" she called quietly. He sighed and whispered,

"Yes?"

"I…I'm sorry. About Chai. I've never liked the idea of Irken murdering Irken. But I did it to impress the Tallest, not because I wanted to. And even though I still refuse to join you, and even though I still want to be an Invader, I really am sorry I had to hurt Chai the way I did."

Zim looked at Dib, who closed his eyes and nodded.

"Tak," Zim choked, "Chai isn't dead. She's just…she lost her memory. She's alive." Tak felt a sudden pang in her chest.

"She…she's alive? Why did you tell me she was dead?"

"I didn't want you to know she was alive. I was afraid you'd try to go after her again."

Tak began to breathe hard. She was shocked that Zim had lied about something so serious…was she really so evil that in order to protect his loved ones, he had to lie to keep them safe?

"Zim…get out of here. I want to be alone."

"I understand. Thank you for your insights, Tak." Zim turned around and walked back towards his party, Dib following closely.

* * *

**Hope you all liked this one. It gets pretty violent soon, so be warned.**


	23. Asylum

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Zim and his little friends. Mara is the creation of Moonlight the Hedgehog.**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Asylum**

"How is he?"

"Not very well I'm afraid, my Tallest. He was screaming before about corruption and brainwashing earlier. He also made some threats against you."

"I wish to speak with him."

"Yes, sir." The little medical drone allowed her leader to enter the asylum ward, a small section of the medical center in the Massive. Red walked in nervously; he had never been here before. The asylum was so rarely used that there was a thick, silencing blanket of dust covering all the machines and floors. They walked a short distance in the small area, their breathing echoing in the musty air. Several other cleaning drones were about, trying to eliminate the dust now that there was someone occupying the small space, but it was nearly impossible. No one spoke to Red as he walked by. They all knew why he was here, and they feared who he was visiting.

"Purple," Red said to a thick glass door with long, oval-shaped holes in the middle of it. The isolated leader shifted in his blinding white room, then hissed,

"Red. Why am I here?"

"You tried to kill me."

"Oh. Right. Why aren't you dead, then?"

"Because you only TRIED to kill me. You didn't succeed."

"You are a threat to the Empire. You need to be killed."

"Purple," Red groaned, frustrated and annoyed, "I want to destroy Miyuki and Zim. I am all for preserving the Irken race, OUR side of the Irken race. But it takes time. It's the same as invading another planet. We need to blend in, spy, observe, then attack. Same basic concept."

"I disagree. We needed to destroy them all before they could get help."

"Since when is the Resisty any help!? Those rejects are…rejects!"

"And yet our prisoners escaped. So now, Miyuki and Zim are planning something bigger, recruiting whoever they can to help their cause, and you and I both know that every idiotic race in the universe that has either fallen to us or has heard of our conquests for power will join them. We are a hated people, Red."

Red was silent, for he knew his co-leader was correct. They were widely hated, and anyone who had not yet fallen to them would join Miyuki before they could be imprisoned.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Purple smiled sarcastically and said,

"You're actually asking me what we should do? Are you sure I'm not too much of a threat to you?"

"I need you to help me. I can't do this on my own, and you know it. What do you think we should do?"

"Tak. Check in on our girl, see if she has any new reports."

"She called a few days ago. She's fine."

"Check up on her. If she made herself out to be a threat to Miyuki, chances are she was caught." Red had never heard Purple speak so…professionally before. It was odd and very unlike him.

"Fine. I'll do it. But I'm sure she's doing well. I'll be back after I call her."

"Good. I want out of here."

"Not yet. I can't trust you yet."

"Of course. Just go and do this, hey?"

"Yeah." Red left quickly to call Tak. He figured she was on her way; she must have had to deal with some stupid Resisty idiots. Walking over to his transmissions computer, he dialed in Tak's code and waited. Almost instantly an automatic message returned, claiming that Tak's communication and defense mechanics had been disabled.

"What? No, that can't be right…" He sent another message, and received the same automatic reply.

"Damn it . . . . YOU!" he yelled over to a servant, "GET ME FIVE HUNDRED SOLDIERS AND FOUR INVADERS! WE HAVE A RESCUE MISSION!" All around him hundreds of eyes stared, all desiring to know who possibly needed to be rescued.

The little servant bowed and ran off quickly with that awkward little Irken run. Ignoring the staring eyes, Red typed in a code to get Tak's coordinates. No matter what happened to her PAK, any Irken could still detect a lost Irken in the rare occasion that it happened. He sent the code out, then waited, until an automatic response told him where to go.

". . . Planet Skeenz? How in the. . . .? Well…I guess this might be easier than I thought." Sighing, he returned to Purple and told him everything.

"Just as I figured. Skeenz is a little too weird for me, I mean, how did she end up there, huh?"

"One of the Resisty soldiers is a Skeenite. They must have been near his planet and decided to stop by for more recruiting and restocking their ship."

"Are we going soon?"

"Hopefully tomorrow. I'll discuss the matter with the five hundred soliders and invaders I called tonight, so we should be on the move very soon."

"Good. Now let me out of here."

"Do you trust me?"

"I do. You're serious about this. I want to be there to see the soldiers off."

"Fine. Let him out," he ordered to a medical drone. She nodded nervously and did as she was told. She unlocked the door and opened it slowly, fearing Purple would snap her neck, but as he left his white prison, he patted her head gently and said to his co-leader,

"Let's go." He walked in a manner unlike him, like he knew exactly what he was doing. He looked like a good leader, and it bothered Red only a little. It was nice to have some of the responsibility removed from his shoulders. He followed the now-free leader into their main control room, where everyone snapped back to their fearful, silent states upon seeing their twisted leader returned to his place. Purple liked the control he had over these lesser Irkens, and he let it show on his face.

Red sat down in his chair and said to the lead commanding pilots,

"Change course for planet Skeenz. Invader Tak has been kidnapped and is being held prisoner there."

"Invader Tak? Since when did she become an Invader?"

"Oh, yeah. Right. She called the other day, and in her efforts, had achieved kidnapping Chai. So I made her an Invader."

"She had Chai? And you didn't tell me?"

"You were in the medical ward, it was right after our fight."

"Huh. All right. Let's get Invader Tak, then."

That night, in the Massive's Great Hall, five hundred soldiers and four Invaders were briefed on their mission.

"Our newest Invader, Tak, has been kidnapped and made a prisoner of war by the old fool Miyuki and the defect Zim. Currently, they are on planet Skeenz, home of the incredibly idiotic Skeenites. This mission should be easy for you all to carry out. Tak also had a human creature with her, he has an alien species bio-code in his Irken uniform. Last but not least, capture anyone you can from the resistance, including Miyuki and Zim. We are going to finish their public execution. Zim might already be dead, but we aren't making any more assumptions. Now go! The Massive will arrive shortly after you."

After Red finished his quick speech, the soldiers wiggled their antennae and saluted their leaders, then ran off to their battleships and cruisers. Purple watched them go, arms crossed, until the very last few made it out the large door.

"Think they'll stand a chance?" Red looked over his shoulder and said,

"I'm sorry?"

"Thick they'll stand a chance? Old Miyuki and her little rebellious brats."

"I hope not. There's always the slight possibility, but I doubt it. They don't expect us, they're on Skeenz, and they're with the Resisty. I mean, how much chance do you think they have?"

"Absolutely none whatsoever," Purple answered slowly and darkly. He wore a wicked little smile that told Red he was still incredibly out of his mind yet fascinatingly functional. Putting it out of his mind and turnign his thoguhts back to his rescue mission, Red picked up a walkie-talkie-like instrument and commanded the pilots of the Massive to wait until the soldiers and Invaders were ahead twenty miles before leaving their current site.


	24. Topsy Turvy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zim and his little friends. Mara is the property of Moonlight the Hedgehog.**

Chapter Twenty-Four: **Topsy-Turvy**

Zim and Dib returned to the healing room where they were cast sad, lost looks from Miyuki, Mara and even Chai, who no longer knew any of them. Zim sat down on the floor in a corner, while Dib went over to Mara, holding her close. Zim took a few deep breaths, then decided to say what he had been mulling over in his head.

"We ran into Tak's cell." Miyuki's head flew up at once.

"I told you not to—" Instantly, Dib went to defend his friend.

"We weren't looking for her, it just kind of—"

"It was me," said Zim quickly. "I could smell her, I knew I was near her cell. And we talked. Civil conversation, our first one. I told her I was angry, that I hated her. And she…she…"

"What?" asked Mara, clearly nervous about anything related to a break-out of sorts.

"She apologized." The room, once again, went silent, save for the whirring of machines and distant laughter. Moments later, Miyuki said,

"Zim, that's—"

"True," said Dib. "I was there. She said she was sorry. And she also said that this war will not end until we fight to the death. She admitted to being stubborn, and that all she wants is to be an Invader. We're taking that from her, just like she is taking freedom from you. It made sense, don't you all see? Every Irken, regardless of which side you're on, is fighting a losing battle."

A few Irkens gasped at the frankness of this statement. Even Mara found herself shocked that the human she loved was defending the enemy. Dib was afraid he'd crossed the line and faced expulsion from the resistance until Miyuki spoke.

"Yes, my dear. I know. Some of us know, many of us, despite our open minds and hearts, know, and knew," (she was referring to the many soldiers they had lost earlier) "that the battle is not to be won until a leader or two is slain. It is not news to me, nor should it be news to any of you, including members of the Resisty. Our goal is for freedom and love to reign at the end of this war, but only the Great Hidden Creator of the Universe knows how this shall end."

And, almost as though the Great Hidden Creator of the Universe had planned it like this, several Skeenites and a few Irkens who had been exploring the halls raced in frantically to give fearful news.

"SURROUNDED!" cried Skoodge, "WE'RE SURROUNDED!"

"By who!?" demanded Miyuki and Zim at once, both already knowing too well who they were surrounded by.

"THEM!" screamed Skoodge, sobbing uncontrollably. "IT'S THEM!" Miyuki sprang into action.

"You there!" she hollered at a group of frightened Irkens and Resisty members, "Get any weapons you can, be prepared to fight, and tell the Skeenites to do the same! NOW!" Even as she gave her orders, she could detect her own fear in her voice. But she must not be weak, she repeated this to herself, she MUST NOT BE WEAK. Weakness would only cripple her chances at winning the long, hard exhausting battle.

Miyuki scanned the room, noting everyone was doing something. But a huge part of her was terrified. Her army had already been weakened by their first capture aboard the Massive…many had died, and many more were still injured. They would not be able to defend themselves the way she had hoped they would. She felt Chai hugging her leg…the amnesia-struck little soldier didn't know what to do in this situation, now that her training was erased from her mind.

A deep rumble beneath their feet told Miyuki that there were Irkens tunneling below them, scanning for their bio-signatures. They would find them in almost no time. Picking Chai up off the floor, Miyuki dashed surprisingly fast for such an old woman from the room into the hall, searching desperately for some way to defend her small army. But she knew their next battle would be fought on the Massive.

The entire building shook violently, and only feet away from her, twenty-six Irken soldiers of the Tallest Red and Purple erupted up from the ground, breaking through the floor as though it were made of paper. Miyuki, holding in her scream of anger and terror, held her little soldier tightly and waited for the soldiers to address her.

"Miyuki, leader of the failed resistance, you are to come with us. We have already caught your many other soldiers, including the wanted criminal Zim, his human, and the Resisty. Do not attempt to resist us." The Irken speaking to her sounded like a robot, heartless, cold, unfeeling….

Defeated, Miyuki sighed and simply said,

"I understand." Chai looked at her leader increduously, then hissed,

"No." Miyuki, as well as the soldiers, gave Chai a surprised look, as though the idea of the little Irken clutching her leader and speaking at the same time was the most astounding thing they had ever seen.

"What did you say, defect?" demanded a hefty little Irken, pointing his gun at her head.

"I said, no. You're not going to win. I know this because Miyuki will make everyone see the error of their ways, the uselessness that has become their lives—I know it because I've felt it. I can't remember being a part of the resistance, I only remember being a slave to the Irken empire. And I hated it. I hated being judged based on what I could and couldn't do. Trying to be better than everyone else while everyone else was doing the same thing, we all want to outshine one another, and it's a waste of time."

It got quiet before eight of the twenty-six Irkens laughed at what they considered a pathetic attempt to change their minds. Seconds after they laughed, they noticed that the other nineteen soldiers had not let out even a chuckle. Turning around with slight apprehension and found themselves facing nineteen, grinning faces.

"You…you…" stammered the hefty Irken, "you're all part of this…."

"Took you long enough," said a female soldier. "Soldiers, you know what to do." Very quickly, every resistance soldier had grabbed an enemy Irken, as many as three or four per Irken. They ran down the hall with them and threw them into the Skeenites prison cells.

"You planned this all along, didn't you!" screamed one of the many, now captured Irkens. Miyuki gave him a hard look, then said,

"Would you believe that we didn't?"

"I'm not surprised," said a strong voice behind her. Miyuki almost gasped as she recognized the voice.

"Yeah," said a higher-pitched voice, obviously accompanying the strong voice. "Yeah, it is pretty…not…surprising."

Miyuki turned around to face the current Tallest, both of whom looked absolutely ecstatic about their soldiers being captured.

"You can't win, Miyuki. You honestly think we're that stupid? After our first brush with you, we figured that you might have some traitors on our ship, just as we had Tak on yours. Sure, you have some of our guys in those crappy little cells, but do you have them all? Of course not. As soon as we left, we ordered everyone we knew to be loyal to imprison everyone we knew was working for you."

"You did not."

"We did. And you'll see it when we take you back." Red cast her a dark look.

"Tak has been released. She has Zim, and she's waiting for us to come back. It's time we finish our little execution party, don't you think?" Miyuki hissed,

"You aren't this smart. How did you do all this?"

"Oh, no, dear old fool, it was me. Me, Purple, our advisors…trust me, things turned out just the way we wanted them to. Guards, grab the old woman. Bring Chai with you as well. She is not to be executed, but to stand with me and Purple at the execution." A female soldier pried Chai out of Miyuki's arms, the little Irken screaming and crying fearfully as she was dragged away.

Several more soldiers grabbed Miyuki and led her in the direction of the Massive, where her fate was waiting to become reality.

* * *

Yes. So, the next chapter is where it gets violent, so if you really don't like that kind fo thing, I suggest not going on to the next chapter. I do not support violence, and all of Miyuki's views of it are mine. Violence doesn't solve anything. That includes verbal violence, for all you flamers out there. Enjoy!


	25. Love Really Is A Battle Field

****

Hey all. So you might want to keep a box of tissues nearby, just in case. Don't expect this to be a happy chapter. Heck, even I was surprised. See, I don't do outlines for my stories, although I really should. No brainstorming, no chicken-foot diagram, no planning. All my stories start with one initial idea, and I build on them as I go. I never planned to kill Angra way back in the day, I never even thought of Chai until I started that chapter. I also did not plan this chapter to be so sad. So please, don't read this if you get sad easily. Also, if I get flames, I'll simply report it. I don't need to get messages from childish idiots.

Thanks to most of you for being patient! Review like adults, please.

-Juana

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Love**** Really is a Battle Field**

Once again aboard the Massive, Miyuki found herself truly shocked to see just how many of her own soldiers were locked away in tight, overcrowded prison cells. Her children cried out to her, making threats at her capturers, trying in vain to break out of their cramped captivity and defend her. But it was useless. The Massive's Irken prisons were contained within giant orbs of blue energy, sending anyone who tried to escape a good zap through their system, disabling them for a harsh, lingering moment. Each time she passed a prison orb, several Irkens went limp instantly.

Miyuki allowed herself to weep as she walked by, knowing she would never get the chance to do so again. And once more, she found herself back in the Great Hall, where the crucifix-like circuit boards had been re-set-up a second time, ready to claim her life. Struggling to see through her tears, Miyuki found that Zim was already strapped to one circuit board, as well as Mara. The third circuit board was empty, waiting for the ex-queen of Irk of to occupy it.

She walked past several thousand soldiers, all of whom glared at her with contemptuous eyes and hardened faces. As soon as she reached the crucifix, she looked up at it with big, frightened eyes and whispered to it,

"You may be able to take my life, but my story will live in infamy across the universe."

"All right, you crazy old bat, get up there," growled a slightly taller-than-most Irken, pushing her towards the circuit board, "Your time is up."

Miyuki obeyed sadly, never having felt so dead in her life. She closed her eyes as several little Irkens strapped her into the board, then jumped off to see how they had done.

Anyone who had ever read the Bible before would be shocked by the similarities Miyuki possessed of the great human the Great Hidden Creator had sent to earth. Miyuki was no holy figure, but her expression, her eyes, told them that she was heart-broken by the extreme lengths of betrayal her own people had gone to get rid of her. Almost as though her eyes could speak, several of the Irkens found themselves wanting to release her, along with her two companions.

Dib, who had read the Bible many times, saw the similarities instantly, and found he was almost shocked by it. He wondered if this was going to be anything like the Bible's story of the crucified human who died and rose again. He figured he would have to wait three days to find out.

Dib was up on the stage with the Tallest, held by Tak and Keef, both of whom aimed large guns at his head. Tak looked only a little determined to witness the death of Zim, who was staring at the ceiling and wishing for it to all end quickly. He had never felt so tired of something in all his life. He looked over at the stage and gave Dib a sad smile, then said loudly,

"I guess you won't be able to take me back to the Earth authorities, huh?" Most of the Irkens around him looked up and tried to comprehend out what he was referring to. Dib returned the sad smile and said,

"I guess not. I didn't want to turn you in anyway. So we both win." Zim laughed a little, then said,

"This is the end. Dib, make sure that bastard Purple doesn't hurt Chai. I know he wants to use her. Don't let him do anything to her, promise me."

"I promise, Zim. She—"

"Belongs to me now, I'm afraid." Zim looked to the left to see Purple, who was walking across the stage towards Tak, Keef and Dib. He had his clawed hand tightly gripped on Chai's shoulder. It was clear she had been sobbing. At the sight of her in distress, Zim hissed,

"Don't you dare hurt her, or I'll—"

"You'll what? You're strapped to a circuit board; you're going to be executed. D'ya honestly think your threats can scare me?"

Zim, lost for words and too angry to care, simply glared daggers at him until Red came to the stage, ready to begin the end of Zim's life.

"Fellow Irkens! We have finally captured the criminals Miyuki and Zim, as well as many others who have made our lives so miserable. The first time we tried this, we had only those two here, but now we have Mara, who, we have discovered, has broken one of the most important rules or our society. She has fallen in love with an alien specie! A worthless human . . . thing!"

The sarcastic outrage in his own voice infested the crowd, who began to hiss and shout Irken curses at Mara, who kept her head up high and ignored the verbal onslaught. Zim growled as he noticed that Purple was stroking Chai's antennae, who winced at each touch.

"It was one very special soldier here tonight that led us to our victory over the rebels, and that is the newest Invader, Invader Tak!" Everyone began to cheer for Tak, who beamed only a little, not as into the celebration as she thought she would have been. However, in their excitement, the Tallest failed to notice.

"Now, before the Resisty has a chance to accidentally crash into our ship again," Purple joked, making the crowd laugh, "let's get this execution underway! Any last words, defects?"

"Yeah," said a voice behind him, "It's over." And with that, before Purple could even turn to see her, Tak shot a hole right through his chest, killing him instantly. Chai screamed out as her eyes darted over to Tak, who glared at the now-dead body of Tallest Purple. Red collapsed to his knees in horror, having not expected this in the least. He didn't even order his men to protect him and capture Tak. All he said was,

"Why?"

Tak turned her attention to him, and mocked his voice,

"Why? Why? Why do we do anything? Why do we care? You want to know why? Because I loved him, that's why. But he never noticed me, never saw me as anything but another slave to the Irken machine. Just like you. Just like every other PATHETIC, USELESS, SELF-ABSORBED IRKEN IN THIS ROOM! And you all know it! You know it because I know it! We all think alike, we all have the same boring ambitions, we're just clones of each other, and nothing more! We have nothing to live for except what our leaders WANT us to be! I don't care if Miyuki wants to be different, I don't care if Zim is a defect, I don't care about what you're all thinking of me, because IT'S NOTHING NEW!"

The Great Hall was filled with cameras, and each and every one of them was recording Tak's speech. So it was no surprise when several angry deep voices filled the room, coming not from the actual crowd of Irkens below her.

"You dare defy your own people?" Tak whirled around every which way, looked at the ceiling, the floor, the walls, the middle of the room and yelled back,

"YES! YES I DO DEFY MY OWN LEADERS! AND THERE'S NOTHING A FEW LIVING BRAINS CAN DO ABOUT IT!"

"How dare you, you worthless little creature! Do you know who you are speaking to?"

"YES! BUT WHO ELSE KNOWS THE TRUTH, HUH? COME ON, WHO ELSE?!"

The crowd of Irkens, including Miyuki, Mara and Zim, shrugged, indicating to Tak they clearly had no idea what the truth was.

"THE TRUTH IS THAT OUR LEADER BRAINS ARE JUST THE BRAINS OF THE FIRST TALLEST TO EVER LIVE, SCARED THAT AFTER THEIR DEATHS, THEY WOULD BE FORGOTTEN, AND THEIR OWN RACIST, PREJUDICE WAYS WOULD DIE WITH THEM. WE'VE BEEN TAKING ORDERS FROM DEAD PEOPLE FOR OVER EIGHTY MILLION YEARS, PEOPLE!"

The shock in the crowd was overwhelming. Even Miyuki had not known this. People were outraged and began to denounce the brains, screaming out their anger at having lost so much potential, so much happiness. Red shook his shock off and instantly realized that he was not going to win this one. He slowly rose to his feet, then, as it hit him that he was going to be destroyed, grabbed Tak's gun from her and shot her in the head. Miyuki screamed as the small Invader dropped to her knees and died.

Red, ignoring the screams of Chai and Keef, who were now clutching each other so close that Zim should have been jealous, leapt off the stage and onto Miyuki's circuit board, prepared to kill her as well. But before he could shoot, Miyuki's binding straps fell loose, allowing her to fall to the floor and out of harm's way. Red growled, knowing that she had been freed by the newly enlightened Irkens, and saw that Mara had also been quickly freed. The only one still strapped was Zim. There seemed to be a problem with the wires—the crowd couldn't get him loose.

His face glowing with hatred, Red leapt onto Zim's circuit board and ripped off the binding cords that bound the little Irken to them, then grabbed Zim and leapt toward the ceiling, where a hover pad flew by, giving Red the opportunity to jump onto it, clutching Zim in his right arm, the gun pressed against his head. The crowd below roared angrily and began to chase after the hover pad. Miyuki ran with them, desperate to rescue her soldier before it was too late.

Red landed in a quiet deserted room and slammed the butt of the gun into Zim's head, knocking the Irken down but not out. Red dropped the gun, slammed and locked the doors, then turned his attention back to Zim. Grabbing his antennae and drawing Zim's face close to his, he hissed,

"You worthless little defect. Everything is ruined. You and your little renegades, you destroyed the glory of the Irken empire!" His clawed hand sliced through Zim's uniform; Zim cried out as blood sputtered and hit Red's uniform. Red dug his claws into Zim's cheeks and hissed,

"My life is destroyed. My people betray me, my best friend is dead, and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!" He smashed his fist into Zim's jaw. Zim coughed and spat blood and a few teeth out before he replied calmly,

"It was bound to happen sometime, Red. You and I both knew it. Eventually, someone was going to crack. I'm happy it was Tak." At these words, Red gave Zim a small, harsh beating, blood spattering everywhere.

"Fight BACK! Fight me, you little freak!" Zim answered,

"No. I promised I wouldn't use violence. It solves nothing."

"It gains EVERYTHING! FIGHT ME!" Zim refused again, and received another beating. He did not allow himself to scram, but he did whimper and cry. The beating become worse and worse, every slam of Red's fist getting increasingly harder and more painful. But still Zim refused to scream or fight back. Red was beginning to get aggravated. This was not the Irken way to handle a situation. Both sides needed to fight for it to be fair, but Zim refused. The little Irken looked up at Red, bleeding, bruising, even developing a black-eye, and said, almost as innocent as a child,

"I feel really bad for you."

That was it. No one felt bad for an Irken, let alone a mighty Irken leader. Red grabbed the gun off the floor and aimed it at Zim's head, ready to fire . . .

A loud crashing thundered from the other side of the room. The crowd from the Great Hall was trying to get in. Red knew he was a dead man no matter what happened, so he decided to wait for them to enter the room so they could witness his final murder. Several crashes, bangs and even explosions were heard, until the door cracked open and hit the floor with a thunderous metallic thud. Hundreds of Irkens poured into the room, thousands more outside in the halls, were growling and hissing at Red as he grabbed Zim and held him close, nearly suffocating him in his death grip. Miyuki was carried to the front in the crowd's angry desperation. Once she was set down, she glared at Red and hissed,

"Release him." Red snorted and replied,

"You honestly think I would do that just because you're angry?'

"I'm beyond angry, Red. I'm furious. Let him go." This only made Red choke Zim a little harder. Zim couldn't even attempt to make any kind of sound. He could only watch the scene play out helplessly. Miyuki could see the fear in his eyes and said to Red,

"There is no need to kill anyone else. Tak is dead. She knew it was going to happen."

Red shot back angrily,

"Purple is dead, too, you old fool. Death is the only way to solve this!" Miyuki shook her head and answered,

"No, it isn't. You think killing a few people is going to make everyone worship you again? These people have finally chosen what they wanted, it's time you stepped down and did something different with your life." Red pressed the gun against Zim's head and growled,

"That isn't going to work. I know they want to kill me, Miyuki, I know they want revenge. I know I am going to die today. But I'm not going to die without taking this little freak with me!"

"That little freak is my child, and if you don't release him, you will be destroyed slowly and painfully."

"What does that mean, your 'child'?" spat Red. "What on Irk does that possibly mean?"

"The Irkens you consider defective, Red. That was all my doing. I programmed them like that, I saved them from becoming conformists, from becoming like you. They are the way all people, of all races, should be. Compassionate, gentle, open-minded, capable of love, non-violent and best of all, imperfect. They are my children, and I created them. Not your brains, not your military's brain-washing methods, not the harsh training. Me. They can think for themselves, something you never learned to do."

Red's death grip on Zim tightened ever so slightly as the Irken leader listened to Miyuki's words. They were all true, and he knew it. But he never cared, he had never once thought about freedom, at least, not the freedom his people took away from other civilizations. He liked the Irken race being submissive to the higher powers, he liked being important, and he loved the attention it brought him.

And nothing, NOTHING this old has-been woman said would ever change his mind.

Red glanced down at Zim and hissed,

"You . . . . do you know how much time and monies Purple and I have wasted on getting rid of you? To ensure the destruction that you always seemed to escape at the last moment? Do you know how much we hate you?" Zim coughed and said nothing until Red allowed him some room to breathe.

"Of course I do," he wheezed, "Why else would I put so much effort into driving you insane?"

Red smashed the butt of the gun into Zim's head once more, this time nearly killing him. Miyuki shouted at him to stop the violence, while Zim hung limply in Red's arms, blood dripping from his lower jaw. Red was about to give the final blow, but stopped himself when he heard the high-pitched, squeaky voice of the human creature growing closer to the front of the crowd.

"ZIM?! Zim, where is he!? Is he okay? Is he— oh God." Dib came to a halt nearly at Red's feet, who glared down at the little human with hateful, contemptuous eyes. Dropping the dying body of Zim on the cold steel floor, Red reached down and grabbed Dib by the hair, pulling him closer to kill him, but it almost all happened too fast: as Red dragged the frightened, resisting Dib closer, several shots went off somewhere above them, all hitting Red in the head and PAK, killing him instantly. Dib screamed as a shot hit his arm. Blood spurted out, painting the fallen leader his appropriate color in both name and nature.

Tallest Red, leader of the Irken Empire, was dead.

For a moment, the weight of the death hung in the air silently, thickly covering the crowd with unsure disbelief. No one was sure they were able to believe it until Miyuki moved forward to lift both Zim and Dib into her strong arms. She cradled them softly for only a moment before calling for medics to assist her. Several Irken drones came running to her aid, setting to work on the two soldiers.

Miyuki looked up at the ceiling and gave a soft smile to the snipers above: Mara, Skoodge, and, to her surprise, the memory-impaired Chai. They all watched the medics work on Zim with determined yet frightened eyes. Miyuki gave her a little nod and turned back to the medics. Several minutes went by. The medics patched Dib up quickly, unable to heal his wound without the use of a pod, but they continued on Zim for a while, with the crowd waiting for some kind of update on his condition.

The medics suddenly stopped their work on Zim. Everyone leaned in a little closer, Miyuki included, before a tiny gasp from above alerted everyone of the result. Chai's gasp was followed by Miyuki's, Dib's, Skoodge's and Mara's, which then was followed by the combined gasps of the huge crowd below and around them.

Zim was dead.

Miyuki began to sob and covered her face, while Chai jumped down from her place above and grabbed his little body, screaming and crying into his neck, begging for him to wake up. Dib dropped to his knees in stunned silence—nothing could kill that little alien. Why now? He hadn't even been shot to death. How could this happen?

The crowd of Irkens before them began to wiggle their antennae in salute to the great soldier who had died for the cause he believed in. Miyuki grabbed Chai and wrapped her long arms around her sobbing soldier and her dead child, who looked so peaceful, as though he knew he had not died in vain.

The night was cold and dark, filled with either silence or sobbing and occasional screams of grief. There had been so much death this day, and in the days past. But it was over. The war was finally over. The brain-washed Irkens had been enlightened by Tak, who was also grieved by many, including Miyuki, Chai and Mara. Even Dib found himself saddened by her death.

Days passed. Proper arrangements had been made to return Dib and Keef back to Earth, as well as Mara, who wished to remain with Dib. Tak and Zim's bodies had been put in their final resting places. Dib remembered Zim's request to be taken to the Earth authorities to prove his sanity, but Dib refused to allow it. He wanted Zim to be with his own people, not on an autopsy table millions of miles away from home.


	26. Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim. Mara is also not my creation. Chai is.**

Oh, God. It's done. It's finally DONE.

To be honest, I feel a little sad that it's finished. I've worked on it for years, deleting, re-writing, editing, posting, getting reviews...it's odd knowing that my best fic is finally coming to its conclusion. And I did promise you all I would finish it. Yes, I know it's sad. I didn't want to end so soon, but my life has been getting busier and busier, so I had to end this soon, other wise it would have taken me several more years to do. I have other stories, too, so if you want, please go to my page to check them out.

Stay safe, guys.

-Juana

**Chapter 26: Home**

"Dib."

No response.

"Dib."

Again, nothing.

"Dib." Her voice never rose.

Dib stood in front of a window, thinking hard about Tak and Zim, and trying his damned best not to cry as he thought of them. Miyuki called him again in her soft, gentle voice and it all became too much. He closed his eyes and bit back a sob as tears flooded his cheeks. Not only would he never see Zim again, but he would never hear Miyuki's beautiful voice again, or feel her strong yet gentle, motherly arms around him again. She was the closest thing he'd ever had to a mother, and he now had to leave her. Miyuki read his mind, something she had not done in a long time with him, and said softly,

"It isn't forever. You will return to me soon, sweetie. You need to grow older on your own planet, though. You know that too." Dib sobbed quietly,

"I know, I know. I just...I'll be alone for so long...and everyone will be...they'll be...NO! Please don't make me go back! Miyuki, please! I belong here! You are my family! Irk is my home!" Miyuki walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Irk will be your home in a few years. I promise. But right now, I want you to be with your real home, and your real family." She got down to her knees and whispered,

"You are my son now, regardless of your race. I love you as my own, and I want what is best for you. I will return for you soon, I promise." She kissed his forehead and held him closely, humming an old Irken lullaby she knew in her youth. Dib felt his eyes growing heavier and heavier as her voice carried him to the happiest place he had ever imagined, with a real family, experiencing real love. . .

He woke up in his room. The sun was up, birds were singing, children could be heard outside playing and getting hurt. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, then sighed.

"A dream," he murmured. "Just a fantastic dream." He threw some clothes on, grabbed his books for skool and began to leave the house before a soft voice gasped from behind. Before he knew it, he was on the floor. Looking up to see his attacker, Dib found himself eye-to-eye with Gaz, who had never looked so happy to see him in his life. She had tears in her eyes. He had never seen her cry before.

"You're alive! You're not dead! You came back!" She hugged him tightly, nearly screaming with joy. Dib looked up at his sister with incredulous eyes—it hadn't been a dream? He really had been gone for a long time, battling evil idiots on Irk . . . but that meant that Zim really was. . . .

"Who is she?" Gaz asked excitedly, pointing to a figure sitting on the staircase. Dib squinted to see, then gasped as he realized that none of it had been a dream. Mara sat there, undisguised, giving him a sad smile that confirmed his worst fears. She got up from her seat and walked slowly toward him, taking his hands in her claws, lifting him back to his feet. They didn't need to speak, they already knew they were thinking about the same things. Mara leaned in and whispered,

"Mother will return in eight Earth years for us, and then we will be happy. Keef is back with his own family, and his memory of all things Irken have been erased from his mind. He will remember nothing, and he will have a happy life. So will we, very soon. It's what Zim wanted for you, Dib. Happiness"

Dib took one hand out from hers and touched her cheek gently, pulling her in for the first of many, many wonderful kisses in their lives together.

The universe never felt more at peace.

End.

* * *

Again, I'm sorry it's so sad, but I wanted it like that. Dib's ending is a little happier, so I hope that makes up for all the sadness.

-Juana


	27. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Happy birthday, Dib," Mara smiled as she kissed his head gently. Dib wrapped his arms around her tightly, thanking her for the small, lovely green cake she had made that afternoon for the occasion. Together they sat at the table in Dib's quiet, empty house, a few candles lit; the television in the living room was switched off. Gaz was on a date with some boy she'd met at a gaming convention; Professor Membrane was in Germany for a series of science meetings.

They had the house to themselves, and they could have done anything now that Dib was eighteen, legal and an adult. But the sadness of events eight years ago still lingered in their hearts, weighing them down. They ate their cake (Mara had slowly developed immunities against several human foods) in silence, but the torment in Dib's heart roared until he no longer could contain it, and so he said what needed to be said:

"Mara, it's been eight years. Is…you said Miyuki would come for us. Does that mean she's on her way?" Mara lowered her fork and placed it on the table with a clink, then looked at her love with those giant, beautiful Irken eyes.

"I did. Miyuki did not specify when during the eighth year she would arrive for us, so I do not know. It could be tonight, tomorrow or the end of the year. I don't know." Dib looked back down at his cake, then said,

"Mara, are you ready to go back?" The question caught her off-guard.

""What do you mean?"

"Like, are you happy here? Did you ever feel a connection while you were here, on Earth, among humans?" Mara was silent for a moment, contemplating the questions, all to aware of Dib's eyes watching her. Finally, she answered,

"I want to go home just as badly as you do. I want her to come get us as soon as possible, I want to see Chai, and I want to visit the bur—" She stopped herself. She couldn't say it, not yet. Dib read her face and whispered,

"The burial site. I know. I want to visit them too. I…I miss Zim so much, Mara. He and I had to be enemies because of the Tallest, when we could have been best friends. We all lost him too soon."

"Yes," Mara sighed. She slipped her hand over his, squeezing gently to tell him it was okay, what happened was done and there was no way to reverse the past. It didn't make it any easier, though.

That night, after they'd cleaned up the kitchen from the cakey mess they'd made, Dib and Mara cuddled up in front of a sci-fi flick, holding each other under a heavy blanket and drifting off to sleep. The past years had been the repetitive ho-hum of human existence, going to skool, coming home, doing nothing, going to bed, getting up and starting the cycle over and over until Dib had finally finished Hi-Skool. He never applied to college, surviving life under the promise of Miyuki's glorious return to them, and now they merely had to wait.

Mara fell asleep in Dib's arms, but he remained awake, like a child does when awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. The movie ended moments later, and went to commercial when the television was suddenly flooded with static. A deep rumble outside grabbed Dib's attention, and he immediately removed himself from the couch to run to the door and see what he hoped to see.

The blue spacecraft landed on the lawn, its entrance opening up fluidly with a bright light flooding that half of the neighborhood. No one else stirred from their blissful, ignorant slumber.

Dib dropped to his knees, tears of joy streaming from his face as a lovely, graceful little Irken slowly guided a taller, older figure down the slope of the little ship's dock. As they grew closer, Dib recognized them as Chai and Queen Miyuki, both wearing tired smiles and extending their hands. Dib ran inside to shake Mara awake, then back to the door to welcome their guests.

"Hello, Dib," Miyuki smiled at her adopted child, "Are you and Mara ready to go home tonight?"

Dib threw his arms around her and whispered happily,

"Yes, mother. Yes, we are."

-Fin-

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**I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed "I've Been Harboring a Secret". I had a really fun time writing this, even if it did take several years to complete. Thank you all for the encouraging words, I really needed them to continue this. See you in another story!**

**-Juana  
**


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